The New York Jets were back from their bye week looking to build off their Week 8 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. They were at home against the Cleveland Browns in Week 10, a team that shares the bottom of the standings with them but still not one to take likely.
It wasn’t pretty by any means, but the Jets (2-7) still won their second game in a row beating the Browns (2-7), 27-20. The offense struggled for most of the game and the defense wasn’t great either.
However, special teams had one of their best days in franchise history and a costly penalty on the Browns late in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Jets. They won’t have much time to enjoy the win as they have a quick turnaround to the New England Patriots (8-2) for a Thursday night game.
Here is Jets Wire’s Report Card for their Week 10 victory over the Browns:
Passing Offense: D
Justin Fields was terrible today only competing six passes for 54 yards. He threw an awful interception, but still was able to get the screen pass to Breece Hall for what was ultimately the game winning touchdown. Glenn will most likely stick with Fields for Thursday’s game against the Patriots, but no one would blame him if he preferred to go in a different direction.
Garrett Wilson had no catches and had to leave the game with an apparent knee injury. Outside of Breece Hall’s 42 yard touchdown catch off the screen pass, the rest of the Jets receivers combined for only five catches for 12 yards, which is pathetic. The new Jets made very little impact as John Metchie III had one catch for three yards and Adonai Mitchell was inactive.
Rushing Offense: C+
Hall wasn’t perfect by any means, but still had 83 yards on 21 carries. He had some big runs when it mattered most and is becoming the team’s most dangerous weapon. Fields carried the ball seven times for 28 yards and the Jets had 127 yards rushing overall. A productive, but fairly unimpressive afternoon.
Passing Defense: C-
The secondary had some coverage breakdowns, especially Jarvis Brownlee Jr., which led to two Dillon Gabriel touchdowns. The rookie quarterback wasn’t exactly throwing a strong ball and it was surprising that Brandon Stephens couldn’t get in front of the ball of Jerry Jeudy on his touchdown that tied the game for the Browns.
But, the pass rush was excellent today with a massive game from Will McDonald, who had four sacks. The Jets had six sacks today as a unit, including one from Quincy Williams who was reportedly benched earlier this week for basically not playing up to his potential.
Rushing Defense: B
In their first game without Quinnen Williams, the defensive line only allowed 75 yards on the ground from Quinshon Judkins. The rookie running back only averaged 3.4 yards a carry and wasn’t much of a factor in the passing game either. Former Jet Malachi Corley had two rushes for 32 yards in his return to MetLife Stadium.
Special Teams: A+
Plain and simple, if not for this unit, it would have been an ugly loss that would have had everyone turning on Aaron Glenn again. After the Browns took a 7-0 lead, Kene Nwangwu returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. Cleveland went three and out on the next drive and Isaiah Williams returned the punt for a touchdown and a Jets lead.
Nick Folk continued his perfect season with two more field goals giving him 17 on the season. Austin McNamara had another terrific day punting, averaging close to 50 yards per punt and three inside the 20. Chris Banjo continues to do an impressive job with this unit.
It wasn’t pretty, but Glenn and the Jets will take it. The team is notorious for coming out of their bye week flat and the start of this game was no exception. They struggled on offense for most of the afternoon and there were too many times where they made Gabriel look like an elite quarterback.
Coaching: B
But, they made plays when it mattered most. The Jets only had 12 first downs and 169 yards of total offense. They still won the game. Credit Aaron Glenn for keeping the players focused after the team’s stunning trade deadline moves. Credit Quincy Williams for not taking his benching personally and using it as motivation. Plenty will dismiss this win as nothing more than beating a bad Browns team with a rookie quarterback. It doesn’t matter. The Jets won a game against a team they should have beaten anyway.
The Jets are still making mistakes, but there is definitely improvement being shown and they’re becoming a bit of a scrappy bunch on the field. Fields cannot afford to have another bad game like he did today. They’ve won two in a row and now head to Foxboro on a short week for a date with Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel. What once felt like a lost cause has now turned into plenty of optimism for the head coach and the team’s future.