EAST RUTHERFORD – On an emotional day at MetLife Stadium where the late Nick Mangold was honored prior to the game, the Jets pulled away in the fourth quarter for a somewhat convincing 27-20 win over the Cleveland Browns, marking their first winning streak in over a year.
On a rainy, dreary day reflective of the mood before the game, with spirits still dampened after the the franchise’s seven-time Pro Bowl center passed at just 41 years old two weeks ago following complications from kidney disease, running back Breece Hall’s 42-yard touchdown reception 48 seconds into the final quarter ultimately was the difference in lifting a fanbase in desperate need of a boost.
While there’s likely no digging out of an abysmal 0-7 start, the back-to-back wins following Week 8’s shootout victory in Cincinnati are the first time the team has pulled it off since September 15-19 last year, which also marked the last occasion in which they were over .500 in the standings.
Cleveland opened the scoring in impressive fashion on their second drive of the first quarter; rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel completed a nine-play, 95-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku with 6:34 remaining in the opening frame to give the Browns a 7-0 lead.
The Jets, however, responded in nearly unprecedented fashion. On the ensuing kickoff, Kene Nwangwu returned it 99 yards for a game-tying touchdown, followed just 36 seconds later by an Isaiah Williams 74-yard punt return to the house that gave the Jets their first lead of the game, 14-7, with 5:45 left to play in the first quarter.
They became just the third team in NFL history with a punt return and kickoff return in the same quarter, and had seemed to create some momentum for an offense that was predictably once again struggling.
Alas, Justin Fields’ interception — his first of the season — thrown directly to Browns safety Ronnie Hickman deep in Jets territory eventually set up the Browns for the game-tying touchdown, achieved just one play later when Gabriel found Jerry Jeudy open in the end zone for a 22-yard scoring strike to tie the game at 14-14 with 10:34 left in the second quarter.
Nick Folk and Andre Szmyt traded field goals for the Jets and Browns, respectively, before halftime, and it still appeared to be anyone’s game from then on despite Gang Green’s failures particularly in the passing game, with Fields only having completed three of six pass attempts for five yards and the interception over the first 30 minutes of the contest.
After Hall’s big touchdown catch, Folk connected on his second field goal of the game to make it a two-score game, while Szmyt answered with 2:57 left in regulation to account for the final margin of victory.
