|
The Browns used a high-octane first half to
take control. Flacco piled up 296 of his 309 passing yards in
the first half, and tight end David Njoku had 113 of his
team-high 134 receiving yards in the first quarter.
Browns receiver Amari Cooper (heel) did not play four days after
his 11-catch, 265-yard, two-touchdown performance in a win over
Houston.
Another former Jet, receiver Elijah Moore, had an 8-yard
touchdown catch Thursday to make it 27-7 Cleveland before
suffering a head injury late in the first half. He did not
return.
Trevor Siemian completed 32 of 45 passes for 262 yards, one
touchdown and one pick for the Jets (6-10). Breece Hall had 84
rushing yards on 13 attempts, and 42 yards and a touchdown on
nine receptions.
Flacco engineered a quick seven-play drive to open the game,
culminating in a 7-yard scoring pass to Ford. The Jets responded
when Hall caught a pass and sprinted in for a 21-yard tying
score.
Njoku's 43-yard reception brought the Browns to New York's
7-yard line, and Kareem Hunt rushed to paydirt on the next play.
With new kicker Riley Patterson missing the extra point, it was
13-7 Cleveland.
New York's night went from bad to worse when Siemian threw
straight to Browns safety Ronnie Hickman, who followed his
blockers 30 yards for a touchdown and a 20-7 edge late in the
first quarter.
After Flacco's touchdown pass to Moore, Jermaine Johnson batted
a throw by Flacco, corralled the interception and returned it 37
yards for a Jets touchdown to cut it to 27-14 with 2:02 before
halftime.
Flacco responded by creating the play of the night. He escaped a
rush, rolled left and completed a pass to an open Ford, who made
multiple defenders miss en route to a 50-yard touchdown and a
34-14 lead.
Greg Zuerlein gave the Jets a 46-yard field goal as time expired
in the half. He then had a 31-yard field-goal try blocked by
Shelby Harris on the first possession of the second half.
The Browns' offense slowed down after halftime. But after
Zuerlein tacked on a 44-yard field goal with 8:50 remaining, the
Browns took advantage of a New York turnover on downs and got a
33-yard field goal from Patterson with three minutes to go.
--Field Level Media
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
