A win seemed challenging when the Jets trailed, missed opportunities to score and were out-raced by the Bengals. However, New York remained competitive and delivered a stellar fourth quarter performance with successful offensive plays and aggressive defense. “The offense was outstanding,” said first year head Coach Robert Saleh. “We racked up over 500 yards of offense.”
Coach Saleh was beaming about the turnaround and explosive plays with quarterback Mike White. White substituted for rookie quarterback Zach Wilson who was injured last week against the New England Patriots.
“Mike White was poised and took what the defense gave him, but also took shots when he had to,” Saleh said. “Michael Carter was hard to tackle. All the way across the board – the protection, the run blocking, the route running – it was awesome.”
The Jets were first to score with a touchdown pass from White to running back Michael Carter. It was the team’s first time scoring in the first quarter this season. A touchdown by wide receiver Keelan Cole was reversed in the second quarter, but White passed to wide receiver Braxton Berrios for a counted touchdown before time ran out. The Jets trailed 17-14 at halftime. White faced a scare in the third quarter. “Yeah, someone hit me from the back and my head ran into someone else and my neck was just a little sore but that was pretty much it,” White said. The medical staff examined him, however he jogged off the field and back-up quarterback Josh Johnson stepped in.
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“Whether he can play or not isn’t my concern,” Coach Saleh said. “It’s more for the man so he can be healthy. Full faith in Josh to be able to step in and go play football.” “I was watching the game from the blue tent trying to see it through the mesh and trying to stay in and see and immediately got to the iPad and watched what they were running to try to stay in the flow of the game,” White said.
New York managed a field goal in his absence and tied the score. White returned, but had to adjust. The Jets did not score again the remainder of the third quarter. New York missed another chance for touchdown, but started the fourth quarter with a successful field goal by Ammendola. Their efforts intensified with a touchdown by running back Ty Johnson and then an interception by defensive end Shaq Lawson during the Bengals next possession. “It would have been cool if he got the touchdown, but it was an awesome game,” said linebacker C.J. Mosley
Trailing 31-26 with 3:51 left, White finds tight end Tyler Kroft in the back of the end zone for the 13-yard touchdown. A successful two-point conversion followed with a phenomenal play. From the shotgun, White hands off to wide receiver Elijah Moore who was lined up in the backfield. Moore then flips the ball to wide receiver Jamison Crowder coming from the left side. Crowder pulls up and passes to a wide-open White who pulls in the pass while falling down. Game over.
White completed 37 of 45 passes for 405-yards. Gang Green defense had three interceptions, 31tackles and 14 assists.
It will be a short week for White and the Jets as they travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts Thursday night. The Colts are coming of a overtime loss to Tennessee.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
