“I’m pleased he got two of them in one game and he handled both of them very, very well”, coach Marvin Lewis said.
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The same might be said of the Jets in the AFC East race if the singular focus fails to translate into a win over the Bills. Bernard had five carries for 25 yards. It always is, but it’s a division game, we’re 0-1, and we’re trying to get that bad taste out of our mouth from Sunday. But the Jets O-line surrendered just 1 sack on the day. Powell looked spry on limited touches.
But rather than talk smack after the game, Green had nothing but praise for the 31-year-old back, saying, “That guy has nothing else to prove”. The Jets suffered mightily in the red zone, after being the most efficient red zone offense in 2015.
Baltimore welcomed back quarterback Joe Flacco, who missed most of the season previous year due to injury, and he went 22-for-34 for 258 yards with a touchdown.
Many Bengals players had exceptional performances against the Jets on Sunday, but some went overlooked with other skill positions having outstanding individual performances.
Returning from a knee injury that ended his season last November, Flacco went 23 for 34 for 258 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown pass to newcomer Mike Wallace in the second quarter that put the Ravens ahead for good.
While Fitzpatrick perfectly placed a “back shoulder” pass to Decker for a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter, he was continually over- or under-throwing Marshall. We’ve got to move forward. The field goal Nick Folk had blocked after this sequence was another big play.
“Most of the plays, I was right there”, Revis said. Dalton was sacked a franchise record seven times.
The second half started with a trio of punts before the Bengals would put together a 9-play, 92-yard drive. Cincinnati rushed for only 57 yards overall.
Revis is the NFL’s highest-paid ($17 million) cornerback as if his Island were still exclusive.
Green finished the game with 12 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown in what was one of the best outings of his career.
The Bengals recognized that the Jets couldn’t stop Green and got him the ball as often as possible. I think every game is important for us coming off a loss, but we didn’t want to lose one (Sunday), either.
The Ugly: The Jets secondary, as a whole, had a tough time against the Bengals. Fitzpatrick finished the day 19-for-35 with 189 yards and two touchdowns to go along with an interception. This was an opportunity to start strong against NFL’s best. His long of 54 yards pinned the Bengals inside the 20-yard line. But we can’t decide which one was more impressive.
He had also set the National Football League record for most extra points without a miss with 322 overall, including the playoffs.
The second of Folk’s three field goals came after NY failed to score on a first-and-goal from the 3. Missing out on those four, virtually automatic points was the difference in the team’s one point loss to a playoff caliber team. If the Jets hope to end their five-year playoff drought, they must avoid falling into too deep of a hole. They do, however, have a lot of room for improvement.
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So between the need to win a game, any game, and the obvious revenge angle – you may recall that the Bills are coached by ex-Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who made little attempt to hide his glee after both victories over the Jets previous year – the Jets should have no shortage of motivation come Thursday night.
