Saints vs. Jets 2013: Steady dose of Chris Ivory leads New York to victory

The Jets accumulated nearly 200 yards rushing against the Saints and controlled the game despite being out-gained.

Nov 4, 2013, 5:49 PM UTC

Ron Antonelli

The New York Jets enter their Week 10 bye at 5-4, right in the thick of the AFC playoff race, after a 26-20 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Finishing without a turnover and nearly 200 yards of rushing, the Jets controlled the pace for the majority of the game, despite getting out-gained by 69 yards of total offense. After the game, John Butchko of SB Nation's Jets blog, Gang Green Nation, gave compliments to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg for his gameplan and to Chris Ivory for his breakout game:

This was exactly what many of us had in mind when the Jets acquired the running back from the Saints late on the second day of the NFL Draft. He ran for 139 yards on 18 carries and scored a touchdown, an absurd average of 7.7. Ivory showed it all. He ran physically through arm tackles. He grinded out extra yards after being wrapped up. He showed a second gear once he hit the open field and showed enough stretch to get to the corner on outside runs.

Things were unsurprisingly less positive at SB Nation’s Saints blog, Canal Street Chronicles, as the team earned its second loss of the season. Dave Cariello wrote after the disappointing loss that the team has approached a crossroads after dropping a game to a seemingly lesser team:

My confidence in this bunch has definitely been shaken after today’s display, specifically when they’re on the road. I now have trust issues. It’s tough to tell just which Saints team is going to show up each week. And there are a lot more areas of concern that need to be cleaned up than I’d like to admit at this point in the season: the one-dimensional offense, the atrocious offensive line, the poor run defense, Garrett f---ing Hartley. With the toughest part of their schedule still on the horizon, who the hell knows how the coming weeks are going to play out.

The Saints will look to bounce back from the loss with a two-game home stand against the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. The Jets will have the week off before traveling to face the Buffalo Bills in Week 11.