By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 30, 2007

With the New York Jets taking a 1-7 record into Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins at Giants Stadium, they've decided they'll also have a new starting quarterback.

Coach Eric Mangini announced yesterday that he's benching Chad Pennington in favor of second-year pro Kellen Clemens.

The clamoring in New York for Mangini to turn to Clemens, a second-round draft choice last year out of Oregon who made his first NFL start earlier this season when Pennington was hurt, had crescendoed during the Jets' five-game losing streak. Mangini made a midweek announcement last week that Pennington would keep the job, but another poor performance in Sunday's 13-3 defeat to the Buffalo Bills led Mangini to make the move.

"Kellen will be the starting quarterback," Mangini said at a news conference yesterday. "I made this decision not based on singling out Chad for where we are, but based on the fact that I think Kellen has earned this opportunity and I want to give him this opportunity. It's in no way an indication that Chad is solely responsible. We all are."

Clemens inherits a team that reached the playoffs in 2002, 2004 and 2006 under Pennington but has fallen apart this season. Against the Bills on Sunday, Pennington threw for only 106 yards and was removed from a game for the first time in his career for a reason other than an injury or being rested with the outcome already decided. Clemens took over with 3 1/2 minutes left in the game and threw two interceptions.

He also threw two interceptions in his start at Baltimore in September, but completed 19 of 37 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown in that loss to the Ravens. The young quarterback nearly led a late comeback, being hindered by some key dropped passes by his receivers.

"It's exciting to have the opportunity," Clemens said yesterday. "I'm looking forward to the chance to play. At the same time, there's a losing streak that this entire team needs to work hard to turn around. . . . I feel better, a lot more confident than that first start."

Pennington vowed to support Clemens the same way that he said Vinny Testaverde supported him when he supplanted Testaverde as the starter in 2002. Pennington has returned from two shoulder surgeries to be one of the most successful quarterbacks in franchise history. He conceded yesterday that, at 31, his future with the club is uncertain because he still views himself as a starting-caliber quarterback, but he said he wouldn't discuss that publicly until after the season.

"I'm disappointed and it's a frustrating time for me," Pennington said at a news conference. "At the same time, it's not about me. It's about our team and our team moving forward, and I understand that. . . . It's the bad part of losing. It's a team game and when you lose changes have to be made, and sometimes drastic changes have to be made whether it's that particular person's fault or not."

Said Mangini: "It's always a difficult decision when you have to make a change. . . . I think [Clemens has] earned the opportunity, and I think it was important to give it to him."

NFL Notes: Quarterback Tony Romo has agreed to a six-year contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys worth about $68 million, an NFL source said last night. The deal contains about $30 million in guaranteed money and keeps Romo from being an unrestricted free agent next spring. . . . Former Bills starter J.P. Losman could get the starting job back this week because rookie quarterback Trent Edwards sprained his wrist Sunday against the Jets. The Bills plan to decide Edwards's playing status later in the week.