The Jets have dug themselves a big hole to start this season, but they took one step in the right direction on Sunday afternoon against the Ravens.
The Jets defense shut out the Ravens in the second half and forced a pair of Joe Flacco interceptions that turned into 10 points that turned a 16-14 Ravens lead into a 24-16 Jets victory. The Ravens lost six yards trying to run the ball in the second half of the game and Flacco threw for just 32 yards over the final 30 minutes as Baltimore lost in New Jersey for the second straight week.
It was also their fourth straight loss overall, which was the same position the Jets were in when Sunday’s game got underway. Geno Smith started the game and hit Quincy Enunwa for a 69-yard touchdown before hurting his knee and handing the offense back over the Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick led a touchdown drive in the second quarter and used short fields to get those 10 points in the second half.
Any discussion of who will start for the Jets against the Browns next weekend will likely wait for word on Smith’s condition. Fitzpatrick went 9-of-14 for 120 yards and didn’t turn the ball over, although the Jets clearly opted for a conservative approach by running Matt Forte 29 times over the course of the afternoon. Forte ran for 98 yards and a touchdown and also scored on a reception during a strong day overall for a player who’d been losing time to Bilal Powell in recent weeks.
The Ravens will have a bye next week and it’s a good time for it as the team is racked by injuries on both sides of the ball. Cornerback Tavon Young and safety Lardarius Webb were added to the list during Sunday’s game and we’ll see if there’s been any recurrence of Flacco’s shoulder problem after another rough day at MetLife Stadium.
