Not many people gave the Jets a chance to give the Bengals a run for their money after New York’s 41-point loss to the Patriots last weekend — and understandably so.
Instead of rolling over and giving in after the embarrassment suffered in Foxborough with a surging Cincinnati team in town, the Jets bounced back and fought in Week 8. Mike White set the tone early by leading New York to its first first-quarter touchdown of the season and made countless clutch throws late in the game to get the Jets back in the win column with a thrilling 34-31 triumph.
It looked like Gang Green was going to fall short when it went down 31-20 on a Joe Burrow touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd with 7:29 remaining. White hit Ty Johnson for a score with 4:36 left to keep New York alive, though, and then Shaq Lawson delivered with an interception to give the Jets the ball deep in Bengals territory.
White took advantage, hitting ex-Bengal Tyler Kroft on a go-ahead, 13-yard touchdown pass. White then caught a two-point conversion from Jamison Crowder on Mike LaFleur’s version of the “Philly Special.” New York’s defense stood tall over the final 3:45 and White sealed the game with a quarterback sneak on 3rd-and-1 south of the two-minute warning.
Give the Jets credit for even coming to play in Week 8, let alone winning. Recent versions of Gang Green would have rolled over after the loss it suffered to the Patriots.
Here are some other takeaways from New York’s thrilling second win of the season.
