Smith at Heart of Jets' Victory

By HELENE ELLIOTT

Dec. 15, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —

New York Jet Coach Bill Parcells smiled when he described cornerback Otis Smith as “a little heartbreaker once in a while.”

Smith’s performance Sunday wasn’t a once-in-a-while effort, it was a once-in-a-career day. And because Smith had such quick hands and quick reactions, he gladdened Parcells’ heart and turned the AFC East playoff picture upside down.

Criticized often this season for his inadequate pass coverage, Smith redeemed himself by intercepting two Trent Dilfer passes and returning them 45 yards and 51 yards for touchdowns in a 5 1/2-minute span in the second quarter, leading the Jets to a 31-0 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and reviving their nearly extinguished playoff hopes.

Also highlighting an imperfect but exciting game, rookie Leon Johnson opened the second half by returning the kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown, matching a 37-year-old club record and delighting the Giants Stadium crowd of 60,122. The 17,594 no-shows will undoubtedly claim they were there to see the Jets (9-6) end a 15-game December losing streak and pull off an improbable transformation from likely postseason spectators to potential division winners.

If the Jets lose next week at Detroit, they’ll miss the playoffs; if they win, they’ll be in for the first time since 1991. If they win and Miami and New England tie in the regular-season finale a week from today, they grab the AFC East title.

“It’s a one-game series for us,” Jet wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson said. “The playoffs start for us in Detroit.”

It’s a dizzying turnaround for a team that a week ago lost to Indianapolis, which was then 1-12, and was forced by injuries to piece together an inexperienced offensive line Sunday.

Aided by a swirling wind that negated the Buccaneers’ passing game and a thigh bruise that kept fullback Mike Alstott out of the game, the Jets further helped themselves with a swarming defensive effort. Tampa Bay (9-6) netted 111 yards, including only 21 passing yards, and was 0 for 13 on third down conversions.

“As discouraged as I was last week, now I have hope again,” said Parcells, who ripped his team resoundingly after its 22-14 loss to the Colts. “That’s what’s great about this game. I’m as humble in this win as I was humbled in losing last week. . . .

“We don’t have a great team here, but we’re a team that’s hopeful. At least we’re in it until the last week, and that’s all anybody could ask for.”

Tampa Bay Coach Tony Dungy was discouraged by his team’s ineptitude--the Jets’ 31 points represented a season high by an opponent--and was disappointed his team’s first playoff appearance since 1982 was earned by backing in, when Green Bay defeated Carolina.

“That’s not the way you want to go,” Dungy said of the Buccaneers’ two consecutive losses. “You want to be going in with some momentum. We played OK last week [in a 17-6 loss to Green Bay] but not our best. We certainly were not even close to our best today.”

The Jets broke through with 1:05 left in the first quarter, when quarterback Neil O’Donnell accounted for 31 of his 112 passing yards in a 40-yard drive, capped by a 32-yard John Hall field goal. Unable to capitalize on Raymond Austin’s block of Sean Landeta’s punt near the end of the first quarter, the Jets persisted in the second quarter and pulled away.

Smith acknowledged the part luck played in his first interception, when Dilfer’s pass deflected off Reidel Anthony’s shoulder and into his waiting hands at the Buccaneers’ 45-yard line. He eluded two would-be tacklers at the 20 and raced in for the touchdown.

But he had to do some fancy footwork on his second score. This time, Smith snared the pass intended for Anthony at the Jets’ 49-yard line after a weak pass from Dilfer, who was hobbled by a sore ankle.

“He [Anthony] ran a stop-go, stop-go type of route, and I had been reading that route all week and was able to step in front of it,” Smith said of his sixth interception and third touchdown of the season. “I don’t know what made him throw that ball, but it came out real late.”

Johnson extended the Jets’ lead to 24-0 with his kickoff return, starting up the middle and veering up the left sideline. “I went right through the wedge,” Johnson said. A seven-yard run by Adrian Murrell, who surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the second consecutive season, applied the finishing touch. It also had the Jets savoring the unexpected second chance they were given by their victory and the losses absorbed this weekend by New England and Miami.

“Other teams helped us out,” Johnson said, “and we helped ourselves with the win. It’s a boost for our team.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

WEEK 16

TOP GAMES

* Cincinnati: 31

* Dallas: 24

Dallas’ playoff chances ended after letting a 10-0 lead slip away. C4

* Detroit: 14

* Minnesota: 13

Herman Moore saves day for Lions with late touchdown catch. C5

* Baltimore: 21

* Tennessee: 19