It was clear to the New York Jets that earning a win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday hinged on shutting down Reggie Bush.
The Dolphins running back ran wild in a Week 2 victory over the Oakland Raiders. He's Miami's best player and was up to his normal tricks against Gang Green with 61 yards rushing on 10 carries before leaving with a left knee injury that will reportedly sideline him for a few games.
"I guess he was doing his thing for a quarter or two," Jets outside linebacker Calvin Pace told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. "We had to put him on out. We didn't see him again."
Bush's injury didn't come from any dirty play on New York's part, but coach Rex Ryan had joked about putting "some hot sauce" on the running back. Bush was sidelined during the second half and overtime, but the Jets didn't exactly stamp him out in the 23-20 win. Take away the injury and Bush was on his way to another 100-yard game.
It will be interesting to see how the Jets' defense tempers the ground attack of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday and the Houston Texans the following week. Until the offense awakens, the Jets' fortunes ride on a unit that will be without Darrelle Revis for possibly the season. That alone is reason for great concern in Gotham.
UPDATE: Pace said later Monday that he didn't mean to imply that the Jets tried to injure Bush.
"I'm sad to see him get hurt," Pace told reporters. "We aren't running any kind of bounty system or anything like that, and actually, looking at the play, somebody just fell on his knee. ... I guess I need to say things in a different manner, and I'll do a better job of it next time."
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.