It was a play that ended up backfiring on wide receiver Stevie Johnson in the Jets’ 28-24 win over the Broncos on Sunday afternoon.
After snagging a touchdown late in the second quarter to give Denver a 14-7 lead, Johnson began dancing like he was in a club and then acted like he shot himself in the leg. The celebration was clearly imitating the situation at a New York City nightclub three years ago where now Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg and ended up serving two years in prison for gun-related charges. Johnson continued his antics by imitating an airplane and then crashing into the back of the end zone.
A 15-yard penalty was assessed and after a botched squib on the kickoff, the Jets regained possession on their own 36-yard line. A Mark Sanchez 14-yard pass found Burress in the back of the end zone to end a four-play drive that leveled the score heading into halftime. The celebration and ensuing penalty ended up costing Buffalo badly, gifting the Jets outstanding field possession.
“It hurt our team. It was very stupid of me going through that and I feel like I cost our team the win by doing that,” Johnson said. “It was a bad decision.”
After the game, Burress, who had four catches for 54 yards including that second quarter touchdown, was subdued in response to questions about the celebration. He said he wasn’t aware of the end zone frolics until told about it after the game.
While Burress said all the right things when talking about the celebration, he also had no qualms in taking a shot at Johnson’s several drops in the second half.
“I’ve seen worse and I’ve heard worse. It doesn’t bother me at all. The result I’m looking at is that we won the football game,” Burress said. “He turned around and dropped three wide-open balls to lose the game for his team. If I was a player, that’s how I’d evaluate myself. He’s doing his thing; I’m doing mine.”
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
