Johnson gets his revenge on old team
NASHVILLE — Chris Johnson delivered the kind of sweet payback to his former team that had him laughing in the aftermath of the Jets’ 16-11 win over the Titans on Sunday. Johnson, dumped by Tennessee in the offseason, wasn’t a statistical giant, but he delivered a decisive play that helped the Jets to their third win of the season.
“There is a little relief,” Johnson said of winning at a place he called home for the first six seasons of his career. “Coming in here was a little weird… It felt a little crazy.”
Johnson had 10 carries for 55 yards, including a pivotal 37-yard run off a direct snap that highlighted the Jets’ game-winning touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Johnson broke into the open and even used a downfield block from Geno Smith to help set up Chris Ivory’s 1-yard score to give the Jets the lead for good.
“It’s a little wrinkle that we do from time to time,” Rex Ryan said. “It was a great time to call that particular play.”
Johnson, who climbed to the running back mountain top with six consecutive 1,000yard seasons in Tennessee, was bottled up for much of the game before springing free when it mattered most. The Jets only averaged 3.9 per carry against the league’s worst run defense, but they kept hammering away (29 carries) before it paid off. Johnson steered clear of claiming he was out for revenge after the Titans cut him loose late in free agency.
“It was motivation,” Johnson said. “I just tried to block all of that out.”
RED ALERT
Jets snapped their drought of eight consecutive trips to the red zone without a touchdown, finding the end zone on both trips inside the 20. ... Rookie safety Calvin Pryor suffered a shoulder stinger in the first half before returning in the second half and finishing the game. Nick Mangold, who missed a few plays in the fourth quarter after injuring his finger, said that X-rays after the game were negative... . Eric Decker (seven receptions, 100 yards) had his first 100-yard game of the season. ... Ryan was among those getting a game ball. Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson told the coach that the players were giving him one after what might be his final win as head coach. “We really appreciate everything you’ve done, coach,” Ferguson said on a video posted of the locker room on the team’s website. ... Quinton Coples knocked out Titans quarterback Jake Locker for the second consecutive season. Locker left in the first half after suffering a left shoulder injury after getting drilled by Coples. He threw three touchdowns in the Titans’ win last year before suffering a hip injury that kept him out a couple weeks.