The NFL kicked off September 11, and the New York Jets showed a bit of rust.

Jets display some smart playing

They started off hot with a quick Quincy Enunwa touchdown in the first quarter, but Nick Folk got blocked on the extra point, his first career miss on a PAT. The Jets also lost Calvin Pryor very early in the game, though there have not been any further reports on his status.

Forte had an excellent season opener for the Jets. Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America
Forte had an excellent season opener for the Jets. Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America

One of the biggest deals for the Jets in the opener was Matt Forte, who collected 155 total yards in the game with 22 rush attempts and 5 receptions on his debut. He's already shown that he's worth the $12 million the Jets gave him in his contract.

Despite the Jets defense picking up the pace in the latter half of the game, the Bengals still managed to gain much needed yards, and were beating the Jets on the sidelines.

Second half collapse

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes and had a completion rate of 54.3 percent and truly looked good for his season opener. The only trouble Fitzpatrick had was allowing the defense to crowd him before throwing the ball, which resulted in a few poor passes from the second-year Jet.

A major issue with the Jets' offense was the lack of touches from Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, though the latter secured a touchdown on only his second target.

The Jets' defense started performing poorly, ironically following Pryor's departure. Likewise, Folk messed up a couple more kick attempts that would have been crucial points for the Jets in the long run.

Forte nearly had an open lane for a touchdown late in the fourth but was dropped around 25 yards from the end zone. Fitzpatrick followed that play with a decent run but fell inches short of the end zone. He then attempted to pass to Decker at third down and missed entirely. Folk nailed the field goal to bring the lead up to 22-20, but the Jets defens was unable to hold back the Bengals.

Bengals show up in the end

A. J. Green was responsible for the Bengals' success in offense for the most part. He gathered 180 rushing yards in 12 rush attempts. He was slipping through the Jets' defense left and right On one play, he had a wide open lane to get to the endzone but tripped out of bounds. That mess up didn't hinder any of the offense from the Bengals, as Green scored a touchdown early in the game and Mike Nugent scored 11 points with a 75 percent hit rate.

A. J. Green was an anima on offense. Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America
A. J. Green was an anima on offense. Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America

The Bengals defense helped secure the victory with some pressured plays. Brandon Marshall dropped an open catch from Fitzpatrick as a result of the time constraint and, most likely, defensive stress. Immediately following Marshall's drop, Fitzpatrick threw an interception and sealed the fate of the Jets for the game, resulting in a 23-22 win for the Bengals.

The Jets' next game is September 15 against the Buffalo Bills.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Robert Brunswick III
SUNY Binghamton Graduate with a BA in English Literature and Rhetorical Studies