After leading 16-13 over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the Jets end up losing by a score of 23-22 on a day where we all remember the people whose lives have been taken on a day we will never forget. There were some good things we saw from the Jets, then there was those moments that made you want to bang your head through a wall. Andy Dalton got hit hard early and often, but in the end the 5th year quarterback from TCU and the rest were the ones standing. Mike Nugent kicked a 47-yard field goal with 54 seconds left, lifting the Bengals to victory after a back-and-forth game.
A couple of good things we can take from this game is the defensive line sacking Dalton seven times by the Jets (career-high), including 2 ½ by second year player Leonard Williams and two by the newest Jet who replaced Damon Harrison, Steve McLendon. The defensive line did not disappoint in the season opener, However the secondary was a big letdown. A.J Green caught 12 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown against Darrelle Revis to help the Bengals beat the Jets for the first time in 10 meetings in New Jersey. Revis who was returning from a wrist surgery said he was out of shape (per source by Bleacher report), got beat up pretty badly by the wide receiver. However, Marcus Gilchrist was supposed to help him out but bid hard on the play fake multiple times.
Josh Shaw sealed the victory with an interception of Ryan Fitzpatrick in the closing seconds. He finished 19 of 35 for 189 yards and a touchdown pass to Quincy Enunwa and Eric Decker. Last year, they were ranked 3rd in the league in red zone offense, but the red zone was not to kind with them as they wasted drives in the red zone and had to settle with for field goal attempts rather than touchdowns. "We had our opportunities," Fitzpatrick said. "We were winning in the fourth quarter and we just couldn't shut the door." Kicker Nick Folk missed an extra point that went wide right after a 15-yard touchdown catch by Decker with 9:38 left in the first half, ending his streak of 312 straight made PATs.
Matt Forte, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, had a good game in which he ran for 96 yards on 22 carries for the Jets, and caught five passes for 59 yards. He looked like the young Matt Forte in which he was running fast and making people miss, something that we are used to seeing from the veteran running back.
The New York Jets had some major problems against the Bengals, but had some good moments as well. The problems are no doubt fixable, but they have to fix it now because although it's the first game they can't afford to fall behind with a tough schedule. Especially that they have a short week, as they head up to Orchard Park to take on the Buffalo Bills at the New Era field on Thursday night.