In Jets victory over Pats, Cotchery channels his inner Tyree

November 14, 8:59 AMSports ExaminerPaula Duffy

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Wide receivers and tight ends at their creative best were on display during Thursday night's game between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots at Foxboro. Brett Favre found comfort in new BFF Dustin Keller and Ben Watson never looked so good to Matt Cassel.

But then there was Randy Moss, who was bumped off the line of scrimmage and double-teamed to such an extent he was a non-factor, until the game clock wound down to one second. Moss' circus-act catch for a touchdown that gave life to the Patriots was on the bubble of improbable. But we expect nothing less from him.

And on the Jets side of the ball there was wide receiver Jericho Cotchery. While Brett Favre refrained from throwing interceptions and an abundance of ill-advised passes, the catch by Cotchery in the second quarter was one of those OMG Favre moments.

This time, however, more of the credit goes to Cotchery who while entangled with his defender reached out one arm and grabbed a 46-yard throw with one hand. He secured the ball against his helmet as he fell to the ground and maintained possession. No one needed Cris Collingsworth to invoke the image of David Tyree's catch in the Super Bowl against the Pats. We all thought of it immediately.

The game wasn't always the prettiest of sights, with untimely penalties and unfortunate turnovers.  But it had all the drama you could want from a contest to determine the division leader between the two snarly ex-friends, Belichick and Mangini. And the Jets won in OT by the grace of Jay Feely's toe.