CLEVELAND _ It wasn't pretty, nor was it easy. But in the end, the Jets avoided being embarrassed by the winless Browns.
Behind big plays by Matt Forte and Quincy Enunwa, the Jets scored 24 consecutive points in the second half to eke out a 31-28 victory Sunday.
Enunwa (four catches, 93 yards) bounced back from some drops early in the game to spark the comeback with a 24-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the third quarter. Forte (25 carries, 82 yards) followed with TD runs of 4 and 2 yards to put the Jets (3-5) ahead for good.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (16-for-34, 228 yards, one TD, no INTs) also rebounded from a dreadful first half.
A week after voicing frustration over the lack of faith shown to him by the Jets brass, Fitzpatrick _ with the help of season-ending knee injury suffered by Geno Smith _ was given a chance to redeem himself against the hapless Browns, who entered the game 0-7. But the 12-year veteran was erratic again, completing 3 of 14 passes for 30 yards in the first half.
The Jets' lone first-half points came on Bilal Powell's 35-yard run in the second quarter. And with a 20-7 halftime deficit, some wondered if it was time to pull the plug on Fitzpatrick in favor of No. 2 quarterback Bryce Petty _ including Joe Namath.
"Who thinks we should see Bryce Petty start the 2nd half? I know I do," the Jets' Hall of Fame quarterback tweeted during the game. "It hurts to say this, but we're not goin anywhere with Fitzpatrick."
The one person who counts, coach Todd Bowles, disagreed. And when the second half began, Fitzpatrick was back leading the offense.
Sticking with him turned out to be the smart move, though. Fitzpatrick capped a 12-play, 78-yard third-quarter drive with a 24-yard TD pass to Enunwa, who broke multiple tackles en route to the end zone. Forte's 4-yard rushing TD gave the Jets their first lead of the game, 21-20, with 2:11 left in the third, and he scored again with 9:38 left in the game.
Fitzpatrick was 9 of 14 for 147 yards and a TD in the third quarter. Perhaps more impressive, the veteran, who leads the NFL with four red-zone interceptions, finished without a pick.
After days of suspense, the Jets announced that Petty, not rookie Christian Hackenberg, would be their No. 2 quarterback against the Browns. And they were almost forced to turn to him minutes into the game.
Trailing 7-0 with 10:15 left in the first quarter, Fitzpatrick took off running on a third-and-5 play and was leveled by a helmet-to-helmet hit from Browns defensive back Brien Boddy-Calhoun. The 33-year-old quarterback jumped to his feet immediately, intent on returning to the field. But the Jets' medical staff insisted on checking him out on the bench. For a brief moment, it appeared Petty would get a chance to run the offense. But after the Browns challenged the spot of Fitzpatrick's 5-yard run, it was changed to a 4-yard gain on an official's review, resulting in a change of possession.
While Fitzpatrick had trouble connecting with his receivers in the first half, Josh McCown (25-for-49, 341 yards, two TDs, two INTs) had no trouble finding his rhythm against the Jets' sloppy defense. Terrelle Pryor (six catches, 101 yards) gave Darrelle Revis problems. But Pryor was a non-factor in the second half. And when McCown tried to force the ball to his quarterback-turned-receiver in double coverage, he paid the price. With Revis and safety Marcus Gilchrist blanketing Pryor, Gilchrist came away with the interception with 8:55 left to play. Linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin also picked up his first career interception on a Calvin Pryor pass breakup.
