In large part thanks to a late penalty, the NY Jets were able to stun the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a last second win in the season opener. Rookie QB Geno Smith (24/38 throwing with 256 yards passing) lead the Jets on an improbable comeback with 34 seconds left in the game, he received a big assist by a late shove by Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David which caused a 15 yards penalty. Nick Folk (who was been a very underrated kicker in the NFL for quite some time) buried the 48 yard field goal with 2 seconds to go. The Buccaneers had just taken the lead with less than a minute to go on a 37 yard field goal by Rian Lindell, on the heels of a 37 yard catch by Vincent Jackson- it just appeared the Jets would lose in the "same old Jets" fashion their fans had grown accustomed to, hopefully Geno Smith will be able to lead them to more 4th quarter comebacks.
The Jets weren't able to run the ball at all on Tampa Bay's defense, Geno Smith led the team with 47 yards on 6 carries, while starting running back Bilal Powell averaged just 2.4 yards on 12 carries. The Jets did get a boost from costless agent TE Kellen Winslow (7 catches for 79 and 1 TD) but largely won thanks to their defense which held the Bucs to just 3 points in the second half.
The Bucs' QB Josh Freeman (15/31 for 210 yards) didn't look particularly sharp and wasn't helped much by RB Doug Martin who finished with 65 yards. Darrelle Revis lost in his return to Met Life stadium, the Jets didn't throw often to his side but he was able to break up two passes.
The Jets have a quick turnaround as they play in Foxboro Stadium against the Patriots on Thursday night, while the Bucs have a division game on Sunday against the Saints at home.