Pennington Gets Mad, Jets Get a Record Start

Chad Pennington could feel the pressure of trying to make franchise history weighing down his teammates.

With the New York Jets trailing by 11 points at halftime, Pennington spoke up in the locker room. It worked. Pennington led a second-half comeback and rookie Jonathan Vilma sealed it, helping the Jets beat San Francisco, 22-14, Sunday.

Though they floundered for the first half, the Jets are 5-0 for the first time in their 45-year history thanks to a strong effort after the break.

“At halftime, it wasn’t about the offense’s play,” Pennington said. “It was about looking at each other in the eye and having a gut check. Are we playing up to our capabilities? It’s about playing with passion.”

His speech was a little more animated than that.

“That’s the maddest I’ve ever seen Chad,” said running back Curtis Martin, who had 111 yards in 25 carries and scored two touchdowns, while passing Marcus Allen for eighth place on the NFL career rushing list.

With Pennington sparking the offense, defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson lighted a fire under his unit. After San Francisco (1-5) scored its second touchdown to go up, 14-0, midway through the second quarter, he left his usual spot up in the coaches’ box and went down to the sideline.

That was enough to motivate the players, who shut out the 49ers after that and limited Tim Rattay to 93 yards passing in the second half. Rattay finished 18 for 28 for 286 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Pennington finished 20 for 30 for 222 yards, but went 11 for 14 for 117 yards in the second half. Martin also had a big second half and has 12,282 career yards rushing.

The Jets began their comeback on their first drive of the third quarter. LaMont Jordan capped a 91-yard drive with a 17-yard scoring run. He failed on the two-point conversion and the Jets trailed, 14-9.

After forcing San Francisco to punt, Pennington led the Jets 70 yards, and Martin scored from the one to give them the lead. A two-point conversion failed.

The 49ers wasted two good chances to take the lead before Martin scored on a nine-yard run with 25 seconds to play for the final margin.