It was a 5-yard shovel pass from Geno Smith to Chris Johnson that put the Jets ahead on opening day, but Smith could not put these Raiders of the Lost Art (of Football) away.
So Chris Ivory put the Raiders of the Lost Art (of Football) away.
It was 13-7 for the Jets when Ivory, a 222-pound raging bull with attitude, took a handoff from Smith and 71 yards and one explosive touchdown you might have expected from Johnson instead later, MetLife Stadium looked and sounded like a white tornado and he was no longer The Other Running Back, no longer The Forgotten Running Back.
“I’ll say it like this, man — that’s the real Beast right there,” Demario Davis told The Post after Jets 19, Raiders 14. “That’s the real Beast. I wouldn’t want to tackle Chris Ivory. He’s injured guys who try to tackle him, D-linemen and linebackers alike.”
Asked if Ivory is kind of like Marshawn Lynch in that way, Davis said: “I don’t have nothing against Marshawn, but I’m going to take Chris Ivory over Marshawn. They have similar running styles. … Marshawn’s a guy who’s going to make the first guy miss, Chris Ivory’s a guy who’s going to make the first two miss every time.”
Coach Rex Ryan needed this run, needed this two-headed monster of Johnson (13 carries for 68 yards rushing, 5 catches for 23 yards and a touchdown) and Ivory (10 rushes for 102 yards) because as accurate as Smith (23-of-28 passing, 221 yards) was, he should understand that beating Aaron Rodgers is a far different animal than beating Derek Carr if you telegraph an interception (Charles Woodson), exhibit a reckless disregard for your body and the football trying to barge your way into the end zone (TJ Carrie fumble recovery) and take a 19-yard sack out of field-goal range in the fourth quarter. Especially on a day when your team is busy committing 11 penalties for 105 yards. When Michael Vick enters for one of his two snaps and is overthrowing Eric Decker from the Oakland 5 off a direct snap to Johnson.
“Amazing back man, that guy’s a beast,” Calvin Pryor said of Ivory. “That put the game away right there.”
On his way from the shower to the locker, the braided Ivory was greeted with a smile and a hug by general manager John Idzik, who acquired him from the Saints for a fourth-round pick during the 2013 NFL Draft to replace Shonn Greene.
“First off, he probably put his hand up too early,” Vick said. “He’s not a guy who has breakaway speed, but he surprised, I think, over 70,000 people today, including myself. Extremely proud of him. I think Chris Ivory’s one of the great backs in this league. Nobody runs harder than him, other than Marshawn Lynch, if you ask me, and I think he has a lot to prove and he’s gonna continue to keep battling, keep working to help this team win football games.”
Indeed, Ivory was 35 yards premature on his way to taking it to the house, and acknowledged as much with a smile.
“I broke maybe the first one or two [tackles], seen a cutback lane, I took it, and after that, just try to see who’s the fastest to the end zone,” Ivory said. “I got caught, but hey, a touchdown’s a touchdown.”
Ryan joked Ivory was trying to set up a block when he put his hand up.
“ ‘You put your hand up, you better get in there,’ that’s what I was thinking,” Ivory said. “As soon as I did it, I knew I messed up.”
The Reluctant Back originally had politely declined interviews at his locker, but eventually relented after most of the locker room had cleared out.
“The two Chrisses that we have — C.I. and C.J. — those guys are dynamic,” Smith told The Post. “Tough runners, they hit the hole, and they’re going to carry this offense, along with the offensive line.”
There will be days when Bilal Powell (1-4) makes it a three-headed monster. There were occasions when offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg disoriented the Raiders with a three-headed monster look.
“They’re trying to find ways to get the ball in each one of our hands,” Ivory said, “and just giving defenses different looks. I think it makes it difficult for a team to kind of game plan for that.”
Smith’s crazy legs (10 rushes, 38 yards) helped the Jets to a 212-yard rushing day.
“I think that backfield, they all make each other,” Davis said. “All of ’em are trying to play with a chip on the shoulder, and it makes ’em all better, and they don’t want to let each other down, they have good brotherhood, and that’s what makes them all special.”
Ivory rushed for 716 yards and five touchdowns in 2010 and 833 yards in his maiden Jets season but has been plagued by injuries, most recently a hamstring in training camp. When he received news he had been traded to the Jets, he said excitedly: “I can do some great things and put up some crazy numbers in New York.”
For one day, East Beast Mode.