Michael Vick replaces Geno Smith
— -- SAN DIEGO -- After a disastrous first half, the New York Jets finally made a change at quarterback and benched starter Geno Smith in favor of Michael Vick to start the second half of Sunday's 31-0 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
Despite the lopsided loss, Jets coach Rex Ryan announced after the game that Smith would start again next week against the Denver Broncos.
Smith entered the game on the hot seat after two straight poor performances. He was awful in the first half and completed only four of 12 passes for 27 yards and an interception -- a 7.6 passer rating.
The Jets trailed 21-0 at the half, after they were outgained 306-60. The Jets played without their top receiver, Eric Decker, who was inactive with a hamstring injury.
Vick did not fare much better and went 8-of-19 passing for 47 yards while running for 14 yards on two carries.
This marked only the second time in Smith's career that he was benched for a performance-related reason. He was also benched the past season in the 12th game, but he remained in the starting lineup the following week.
It has been a rough seven days for Smith, who was fined $12,000 by the league for cursing at a fan after last week's loss to the Detroit Lions.
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