MIRACLE ON BRYCE
NEW STARTER PETTY RALLIES JETS PAST 49ERS FOR OT WIN
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Call them Bryce Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The new Jets starting quarterback was far from perfect, but he led his team to a dramatic 23-17 comeback win over the dismal 49ers, erasing a 14-point halftime lead to snap the Jets’ four-game losing streak.
“You’ve got to give him credit for his guts,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said.
Those guts were on display in overtime when he rolled to his left under pressure and then threw across his body to Robby Anderson for a 26-yard gain to the 49ers’ 25. Three plays later, Bilal Powell scored the game-winning touchdown on a 19-yard run. To start the overtime, the Jets’ defense stopped running back Carlos Hyde — who gashed the Jets for 193 yards on the ground — on a fourth-and-1 run to give the ball to the offense.
The Jets are now 4-9, quieting the chatter about Bowles’ job security for this week at least.
The victory seemed improbable in the first half when the Jets could do nothing right against the 49ers, who dropped to 1-12 with their 12th straight loss. Petty threw an interception on his first pass, the Jets’ defense could not stop Hyde (141 yards in the first half ) and the 49ers led 14-0 with the game barely four minutes old.
“I think in the first half we definitely came out flat,” defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson said. “We always talk about trying to come out fast and we came out flat. Coach told us at halftime that we have to finish. We know as a defense we didn’t play up to our standards. We did a great job in the second half not allowing points.”
This was Petty’s second start, but the first of his four-game audition to be the 2017 starting quarterback. He went 23-of-35 for 257 yards with the interception. He held the ball too long at times, taking six sacks, but he got the job done in the second half, including making a twopoint conversion on a gritty run.
“Overall, hey, we got the win,” Petty said. “The first half was probably about as ugly as I could play. I came out a little more nervous than I thought I was going to be. I felt good all week, good practices all week, and then, for whatever reason, I just have to settle down. Hats off to the team for just sticking with me. We just kept fighting and kept fighting and plugging away. The end result was a win and that’s all we care about.”
Petty will get the headlines, but Powell deserves the game ball for this win. Starting running back Matt Forte exited the game midway through the first quarter with a right knee injury. Powell replaced him and put the Jets on his back. He ran the ball 29 times for 145 yards, scoring two touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 34 yards.
“He did a yeoman’s job,” Bowles said. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if we even win this game. He single-handedly, from my point of view at least, broke every tackle he could break. He caught every ball. He blocked. He ran. He did everything. He had an outstanding effort.”
The game could not have started out worse for Petty and the Jets. The second-year quarterback threw an interception on his first pass of the game. He completely telegraphed a throw intended for Quincy Enunwa on the right sideline. San Francisco cornerback Jimmie Ward jumped in front of Enunwa to pick off Petty, the first interception by a 49ers cornerback all season.
“It was a hiccup,” tackle Ben Ijalana said. “He came back into the huddle and said, ‘That’s on me. The game starts now.’ We acted accordingly. He handled himself really well I thought.”
The interception gave the 49ers the ball on the Jets’ 7-yard line. It took one play for Colin Kaepernick to hit Hyde for a 7-yard touchdown.
That was the start of a huge f irst half for Hyde, who had runs of 47 and 43 yards. The 49ers went up 14-0 on their second drive with the game barely four minutes old. After Hyde broke a 47-yard run to put the ball at the 4, Shaun Draughn finished the drive off with a 4-yard run.
The 49ers could have had a bigger lead at halftime than 17-3 if their usually reliable kicker, Phil Dawson, had not miss field goals from 44 and 48 yards.
The Jets’ defense woke up in the second half and held the 49ers to 85 total yards, 17 passing, and forced five punts and, most importantly, no points.
“I kind of felt like those guys over there, the 49ers, felt like they had the game a little bit,” Wilkerson said. “As a team over here, the Jets, we kept fighting to the end and we won.”
With 5:04 left in the fourth quarter, Powell scored on a 5-yard run to cap a 15-play drive. Petty then made it 17-14 with a keeper on a zone read for the two-point conversion.
On their next drive, the Jets moved the ball to the 49ers’ 32, where Nick Folk hit a 50-yard field goal with 38 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.
The 49ers won the coin toss and started with the ball. Hyde ripped off a 25-yard run on the second play to move the ball into Jets’ territory, but a thirddown pass from Kaepernick to Chris Harper came up a yard short of the f irst down. On fourth-and-1, a host of Jets, led by Wilkerson, stopped Hyde short of the first down.
“The guys fought,” Bowles said. “They didn’t give up. They had some grit, determination and I’m proud of them for fighting.”
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It was perfectly fitting the deciding play in the Jets’ 23-17 overtime win over the 49ers Sunday at Levi’s Stadium came from running back Bilal Powell.
Because without Powell and his 145 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the Jets would have flown back home after the game a 3-10 team having endured its fifth consecutive loss.
“He did a yeoman’s job,’’ coach Todd Bowles said. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if we even win this game.’’ They don’t. “He single-handedly, from my point of view at least, broke every tackle he could break,’’ Bowles said. “He caught every ball. He blocked. He ran. He did everything. He had an outstanding effort.’’
His final effort — on his career-high 29th carry — came at 8:35 of overtime in the form of a game-winning 19-yard scoring run on which he broke tackles as he had been doing all game.
“I don’t know how many tackles he broke on the way there, but it was awesome,’’ center Wesley Johnson said.
“I don’t know what happened. I just know I was tired and I was in the end zone,’’ Powell said. “I’m not a big celebration guy, so I was just waiting for the confirmation of a touchdown.”
Indeed, there was flag down near the line of scrimmage on the play and, with the Jets being the 3-9 team they were at the start of the day, it was understandable to figure the penalty was on them and would nullify the touchdown.
But it was an offside call on the 49ers, confirming the touchdown and the victory.
Powell’s breakout performance came as no surprise to his teammates.
“He’s been doing that all year,’’ Johnson said. “I was glad to see him have a great game, because you all saw it on the field, but we see it every day when we’re in the building. When a guy’s running like that, it makes us want to block better. I was happy to see him do well.’’
Left tackle Ben Ijalana called Powell “a warrior,’’ adding, “I’ve been a teammate with this guy since 2013 and this is what he does. The guy is an animal, and I’m happy to see him shine. He wasn’t [settling for] kicking a field goal. He finished the game off walk-off style. He was on. This was his moment.’’
Before Sunday, Powell had just one 100-yard rushing game in his career — 149 yards against the Bills in 2013. His previous high in a game this season was 76 yards.
“In our room we know that guy’s a baller,’’ quarterback Bryce Petty said. “I don’t know another word to describe it. He makes plays that he shouldn’t make. Defensive guys have him dead to rights and he just slips and moves in certain ways that he gets past guys. I love when he touches the ball because good things normally happen.”
Powell, a very quiet player who rarely does interviews, repeatedly spoke about “whenever’’ his number is called “I try to take full advantage of my opportunities.’’
Usually used on third downs as a complementary back, Powell’s opportunity for more touches came when Matt Forte hurt his knee in the first quarter.
“When Matt went down, I was well prepared like I’m always prepared each week,’’ Powell said. “It was unfortunate that he went down. He could have been the one with the big game.’’