The heated rivalry  turned into an old fashioned Jets Miami classic shootout. In the end though, a 4th down Sanchez prayer with just under two minutes left, raced high and over the head over of a double covered Dustin Keller in the back of the end zone. The loss left the Jets at 4-4, 1-3 in the AFC East, and heading into their bye week light years away from a team that started out 3-0, struck fear in opposing quarterbacks as they rode the magic of the rookie signal caller.

The rivalry heated up in the third quarter with the Jets leading 6-3. Ginn returned the first of two third quarter TDs. The first return of 100 yards was trumped by the second, for 101 yards. A Shonn Greene fumble was also returned by Jason Taylor for a TD. In all, three MIami TDs came in the third quarter while the offense was on the sidelines. The Jets answered both scores though as the snails pace that embodied the game’s  first half,  began to remind us of those old Ken O BrienDan Marino shootouts from the 80’s, when both clubs would trade scores all day. The first Jet score of the day, a  Mark Sanchez TD scamper answered the Taylor return. The second, a great 20 yard  catch by WR Braylon Edwards covered like glue, answered the second Ginn Jr return. 24-19 MIAMI. The Jets, though tried to go for two and didn’t make it. It would haunt them the rest of the way. Was it too early to go for two in the late third, to cut the deficit to 3? Many including this reporter thought so.

The Dolphins then  went up 30-19 in the start of the fourth on a Chad Nenne rollout toss to Joey Haynos but the Jets answered again. This time a 16 yard Dustin Keller TD. Keller re emerged from a month long slump to the tune of 73 yards and a TD. At 30-25 the Jets, because of the failed first try , were forced to go for two again and failed to convert.

Down 30-25, Gang Green got the ball back with three minutes left and were soon knocking on the door. A brilliant Sanchez to Keller 4th down completion that saw Sanchez first  backpeddle then lob a beautiful strike over the Miami defender, left the Jets on the Miami 12 with 2:00 left. Dreams of a comback against their hated rivals ended there however for Gang Green. A third down Dolphin sack left the Jets on the 20, fourth and goal. Sanchez then tried to work the back line of the end zone but Keller was triple teamed as the ball sailed helplessly through the end zone.

“This stings, going into the bye with a loss like this,” said Sanchez after the game. The Jets QB was 20 for 35 for 265 yards and two touchdowns. “As a competitor and as an offense, we thought we were winning that game, no doubt.”

The loss was hard for many Jet faithful to swallow. Holding the vaunted Wildcat formation down to a pedestrian performance couldn’t prevent the Fish from finding other ways to score.  For Miami, now 3-4 and headed for a clash with first place 5-2 New England, the win was sweet. Bad feelings have clouded these two teams since the offseason when Dolphins Channing Crowder and Jets coach Rex Ryan exchanged verbal attacks. Before the game Sunday, Jets FS Kerry Rhodes got into a shoving match with some Dolphin players during warmups. Sunday, the Fish got the last laugh, sweeping the season series between the two as a result.

“When you have two teams that really hate each other, that’s going to be your best football,” Miami linebacker Joey Porter admitted. “I wish you could hate every team like you hate your rivals. They brought out our best football.”

The 4-4 Jets get two weeks to think about what has happened to their magical 3-0 start befor etaking on the Jacksonville Jaguars in a must win Nov 15.

Follow TJ Rosenthal on twitter @ thejetreport

Everyone involved with the UFL keeps using the catch phrase “alternative entertainment,” but I prefer to use the term “football at a price everyone can afford to watch.”  With seats priced at levels even lower then most college football games, everyone should be taking advantage of the chance to see professional football.

If you tally the cost of going to an NFL Game (even if you have tickets you purchased at regular face value), you would have already priced the average person out of their rent or mortgage payment for a month. With the going price for a UFL seat at $20 per, a family of 4 can have an affordable day or night of football.

While Thursday’s game was another loss for New York, they continue to improve in every facet of the game. Recent additions to the roster include former NFL Punter Scott Player, who wears a faceguard out of the 1950’s era.  When I asked New York head coach Ted Cottrell about player’s faceguard (as I’m an ex-kicker/punter and wore a similar one as a youth player in the 1960’s and 70’s), he lit up that great smile of his and told us, “they’ve (the team) never seen it!”

California would win this game by a 20-13 score, but New York kept it more then interesting, considering they had given up 17 points in the first half. Give the New York coaches and players credit for not packing it in early, as you could almost hear echoes of Herman Edwards famous “you play to win the game” quote along with his infamous (to Giants fans) fumble recovery for a touchdown throughout the halls of the building that will soon be torn down.

Personally, I spent many years learning about football In the Meadowlands, as both a fan sitting in section 311(row 25, seats 6-10), and later as I began my sports writing career. It holds a special place for me, and having the opportunity to cover the first UFL game here just made this last year of the building’s existence and my memories of it that much sweeter for me.

Both coaches have a wide array of feelings about the building as well. Redwoods head coach Dennis Green was asked about it and told us, “It was exciting to be at Giants Stadium, but once the game starts, you don’t notice. All the players were excited.”

He also made mention of the famous “Open Doors” Incident that he felt cost him a win over the Giants when the facilities staff would open the doors on the field level to allow the wind to aid a Giants’ field goal attempt or punt and then make sure they were closed for the opposing team In the same situation.

Coach Cottrell offered some other thoughts on the positive side:  “It was great to be in the area we’re locating to. I wish it (the game) had come out another way.” He went on to tell us “This ball park is great for fans. The new one (stadium) is going to be even better.” He still holds a deep fondness for the area from his time as a Rutgers assistant coach, and as the Jets defensive coordinator, but also recounted his famous quote as a Bills assistant when his defensive players talked about coming to New York to play the Jets, “It’s not New York, it’s East Rutherford New Jersey.”

All that being said, the stadium with the skyline of Manhattan in clear view will be missed by many people, but will be remembered for many great moments, including the launch of the UFL in the NY area.

There was a reason Coach Tom Coughlin and GM Jerry Reese decided to carry 7 receivers to open the season. Injuries. Nicks’ foot could be worse however, as the x-ray’s were negative.  Just how bad the sprain is has yet to be determined.  An x-ray can only tell you so much. It could be 2 weeks or 4, as a foot sprain is almost like a bad back, it’s very tricky. One sports medicine expert we speak with who is familiar with lower limb injuries tells us that a severe sprain could sometimes be worse then an actual fractured bone. Now the Giants offense is down to 6 wide outs. The other receiver drafted in 2009, Ramses Barden, was inactive for the game but will most likely now be an active roster move for the next several weeks while Nicks recovers.

The second most important question was how the Giants pass rush would do with the infusion of free agents obtained in the past offseason. We saw that they did just fine up front defensively, putting pressure on Redskins QB Jason Campbell on several long second and third down plays. Osi Umenyiora had a 37yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown, and Justin Tuck, Chris Canty, and the rest of the Giants defense looked like the same unit that has won 22 regular season games over the last two years. The concerns still remain over the secondary however, where there is still work to be done. That being said, Corey Webster’s sideline interception took the “wind out of Washington’s sails” on a key offensive possession.

The final major question was how well Eli Manning deals with the partial turn over in personnel. With the exception of a few skittish moments early in the game’s first  half, Manning also looked like the same player who had the fantastic 2007 and most of 2008 seasons. But now, a new set of questions arise like any other Monday morning in the NFL.

Will the Giants continue to have trouble scoring Touchdowns in the “Green” zone? (Something both Coach Coughlin and Eli Manning made note of as needing improvement in the post game press conference). Will Danny Ware’s wrist keep him out of any games? Will Mario Manningham continue to emerge as the big play threat (his 30 yard catch and run touchdown while tight-roping the sideline was a thing of beauty)? Or will Kevin Boss fulfill that role?

While the defense saved the day for NY, there were some shaky moments as we mentioned earlier. Redskins Runningback Clinton Portis seemed to play like a hall of famer at times, running through gaps in the Giants run defense large enough to drive an Abrams tank through. This will need to be corrected at some point if the Giants expect to contend for another trip to the Super Bowl. Overall they played well enough to win and did just that, but they missed out on some scoring chances, leaving at least 14 points on the field, meaning the final score should have been more like 34-17 or 37-17 rather then 23-17.

Next week the Giants will play Dallas on “Sunday Night Football” to open the new Stadium. Dallas beat Tampa Bay 34 21 in Tampa this week, and will pose many more problems then Washington did this week. It won’t be easy for NY to walk away with a victory next week. The fact that Eli Manning was able to spread the football around against the Redskins (Smith 6 catches, Boss, Manningham, and Bradshaw 3 each, Nicks, Jacobs 2 each and Hixon 1) will be the one facet of the Giants offense that the Cowboys have trouble with, and what Coach Coughlin should go after Sunday night.

The other telling stat that signals a problem for the Giants against teams with strong run defenses: Washington held the Giants to just 106 total rushing yards, Plus Danny Ware also left the game with a dislocated elbow and probably won’t play for at least 1-2 weeks. Overall the Giants totaled 351 yards of offense to Washington’s 272, with just 85 of that being on the ground.