Jets Play It Safe Against Fiesty Bengals

JETS 26

BENGALS 14

It was not the offensive output that the Jets displayed two weeks ago against the Arizona Cardinals, but it was enough. The Jets did just enough to hold off the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, beating the winless team 26-14.

Things did not get off to a great start for Gang Green (or, should I say, The Blue's Brothers, because the Jets were once again decked out in navy jerseys and helmets for the second straight game). On the first play of the game, Brett Favre was sacked and sripped of the football by Chinedum Ndukwe, who picked up the loose ball and walked in from 15 yards out for the touchdown.

The Jets quickly answered. Favre drove the Jets down the field on a 13 play drive that took almost six minutes. When the Jets got to the Cincy 10 yard line, it got a little crazyy. First Favre threw a touchdown pass to Dustin Keller, but the play was flagged because Favre stepped over the line of scrimmage and then threw the ball, a five yard infraction. Next, Farve hit a wide open Jerricho Cothery on a cross pattern for the TD, but that was called back for offensive pass interference. Finally, Favre connected with Thomas Jones for a two yard touchdown. Three's a charm!

Defensively, the Jets dominated the Bengals. They shut down the Bengal running game and proceeded to torment backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The overall total was five sacks and a two fumbles.

The Bengals went almost an entire half without getting a first down. The Bengals only substantial drive of the day came at the end of the second quarter when Fitzpatrick hit Chad Johnson and T.J. Housmanzadah on slant patterns towards the sideline to get the Bengals within range for a possible score. Fitzpatrick took it in from one yard out to get the Bengals to within 17-14.

The Jets offense went into a shell for most of the game. They played it really close to the vest with a conservative gameplan. The Jets held a slim 20-14 lead, until they finally put together a solid drive at the end of the fourth quarter. The Jets executed a nice 10 play drive that ate up 6:18, as Thomas Jones scored his third touchdown of the day to seal the deal for New York.

The Jets travel to Oakland to play the hapless Raiders next weekend.