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EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The
New York Jets
seek to improve to 5-0 for the first time in franchise history before a showdown next week against the
New England Patriots
.
First, they must beat the San Francisco 49ers, who posted their first win of the season last week, rallying from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the
Arizona Cardinals
in overtime, 31-28.
"We have to worry about San Francisco," Jets quarterback
Chad Pennington
said. "They're fresh off a big win, having scored a lot of points and gained a lot of yards."
The Jets are not getting the same type of respect as the Patriots and the
Philadelphia Eagles
- the NFL's only other unbeaten teams - because of their weak schedule. The combined record of the Jets' opponents is 4-14 and three of those wins are by San Diego.
"We're not going to apologize for being 4-0," New York coach Herman Edwards said. "Remember, last year we were 0-4 at this time and it wasn't a whole lot of fun."
Through four games last season, the Jets were ranked 31st against the run. After holding
Travis Henry
to 33 yards on 12 carries last week in a 16-14 win over Buffalo, the Jets are 11th in that category through four games.
The improvement could be attributed to the development of defensive tackle
Dewayne Robertson
, the fourth overall pick in 2003, and the influx of youth and speed at the linebacker position with the additions of first-round pick
Jonathan Vilma
and
Eric Barton
and the deletions of
Mo Lewis
and
Marvin Jones
.
For the first time in Edwards' four-year tenure, the Jets made it through the first four games without having allowed a 100-yard rusher.
The Niners have a 1,000-yard rusher in
Kevan Barlow
, but may have to go on another aerial assault to win Sunday.
Tim Rattay
, a fifth-year quarterback from Louisiana Tech, became the first to throw for more than 400 yards this season, completing 38-of-57 passes for 417 yards and two touchdowns in the come-from-behind win over Arizona.
Trailing 28-12, the Niners scored touchdowns with two-point conversions late in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Rattay hit tight end
Eric Johnson
with a six-yard scoring pass with 4:35 left and then the quarterback ran in for the conversion. Rattay connected with
Brandon Lloyd
on a 23-yard touchdown with 1:07 remaining and hit Lloyd again with the two-point conversion to tie the game.
End-outside linebacker
John Abraham
will try to generate pressure on Rattay. Abraham had three of the Jets' four sacks in their win over Buffalo.
Johnson finished with 13 catches for 162 yards in the win over Arizona. He will match up against strong safety
Reggie Tongue
on Sunday.
But even the win came at a price as the Niners lost two-time Pro Bowl linebacker
Julian Peterson
for the season with a torn left Achilles tendon. It is a major blow to a defense which has allowed 137 points this season, second-worst to Green Bay's 142.
Matchup to watch: Niners right guard
Kyle Kosier
faces defensive tackle
Dewayne Robertson
.
Series: San Francisco leads, 8-1, with five straight wins.
Next week: San Francisco has a bye NY Jets visit New England on October 24
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