NFL Recap (NY Jets-St Louis)
Posted: Sun October 11, 1998 at 9:36 p.m. EDT
ST LOUIS 30, NY JETS 10
ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- For once the St. Louis Rams weren't
gracious hosts.
Amp Lee rushed for
two touchdowns and Jeff
Wilkins booted three field goals as the Rams snapped an eight-game home
losing streak with a 30-10 victory over the punchless New York Jets. St. Louis
converted five New York turnovers into 27 points.
The Rams (2-3) earned their first victory at the TWA Dome since
beating the New York
Giants, 13-3, in their third home game last season. St. Louis lost its
three previous home contests this year to New Orleans, Minnesota and
Arizona by a combined 17 points.
"It's been a long time since I could come in with a smile on my face,"
said St. Louis coach Dick Vermeil. "What is it, eight games in a row? The
game ball will go to our two owners, Georgia Frontiere and Stan Kroenke.
They didn't get too mad at me with eight home losses in a row."
Tony Banks was
18-of-24 for 171 yards for the Rams, completing 15 straight at one point,
the third-highest total in franchise history.
"It feels good," said Banks. "Up to this point our field hasn't been
much of a home-field advantage. Rather than a nail-biting come-from-behind
victory they're (the Jets) the ones who had to come back."
St. Louis starting tight end Ernie Conwell suffered a
concussion when he was hit by two defenders on an incomplete pass in the
first quarter and did not return.
The loss dropped New York (2-3), playing without leading rusher Curtis Martin who was
sidelined with a right thigh bruise, two games behind the New England Patriots in
the AFC East. The teams meet next Monday in New England.
"This is as bad as we've played in a very, very long time and we had
no chance to beat anybody today," said New York coach Bill Parcells, who
suffered his worst loss in 21 games since taking the Jets' reins last year.
"We were totally non-competitive."
Glenn Foley
started at quarterback for the Jets after Vinny Testaverde led the
team to their only two wins of the season. But after missing two games with
pulled rib cartilage, Foley was ineffective and was benched late in the
third quarter.
"I tried to give Glenn a couple more series, just to see if he could
get going," added Parcells. "It wouldn't have made any difference who was
playing quarterback today."
Foley, now 0-3 as a starter this year, completed just 5-of-15 passes
for 76 yards before being replaced by Testaverde, whose fumble led to the
Rams' final score early in the fourth quarter. The Rams also had five
sacks.
"This is the kind of ball we want to play around here," said defensive
end Kevin Carter of the
turnovers. "That's the key to almost any ballgame you play. If you give
your offense chance after chance to score you're going to win the
ballgame."
After John Hall's
54-yard field goal opened the scoring, the Rams took a 7-3 lead on Banks'
seven-yard scoring pass to running back Derrick Harris, who scored
his first career TD with with 47 seconds left in the first quarter.
Wilkins' 52-yard field goal and Lee's 1-yard TD run gave the Rams a 17-3
halftime lead.
After Wilkins added field goals of 30 and 34 yards in the third
period, disaster struck the Jets when Testaverde fumbled a flea flicker
inside his own 302. Tackle D'Farr returned it 18 yards to the 12, setting
up Lee's 2-yard TD run 38 seconds into the final quarter that gave St.
Louis a 30-3 cushion.
The Jets finally got in the end zone on Testaverde's 17-yard TD pass
to running back Leon
Johnson with 12:21 remaining.
The Jets showed some spark under Testaverde but hopes for a comeback
ended when his pass to Dedric Ward was incomplete
on fourth-and-16 from the Rams' 38 with 9:08 left. Testaverde completed
9-of-18 for 96 yards.
"I have a lot of respect for him," said Vermeil. "He's won two in a
row. He's a little more of a stationary target. I thought if we kept the
presure on we could sack him."
Without Martin, the Jets were limited to just 54 yards on the ground
on 15 carries. Johnson was virtually a one-man gang, rushing 13 times for
56 yards. Foley and Testaverde each carried once for minus-one yard.
"We had 45 players dressed for this game and we had 12 coaches
coaching," said Parcells "Everybody stuck. Everybody, period."
Lee rushed for 53 yards on carries and had six six receptions for 62
yards while Issac Bruce, who returned after missing two games with a
hamstring injury, caught five passes, also for 62 yards. Bruce moved into
seventh place on the Rams' all-time list with 4,590 receiving yards.
"We just utilized the motion package a little bit with Amp coming out
of the backfield or Derrick Harris coming out of the backfield," said
Vermeil. "And Issac, we got him going."
St. Louis, which has a 319-177 edge in total yards, won its fifth
straight against the Jets and increased its lead in the series to 7-2.
I thought the defensive front played as well as they have all year,"
said Vermeil. "I don't know who to single out. The secondary played well.
it was just a good win for our organization, but all it means is one win in
a row."
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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