Robert Saleh praised the Jets’ fight late in last week’s mistake-filled blowout loss to Baltimore, saying that “If we do play with that type of mentality and we do play with that type of effort that we played today with, we're going to be fine.”
Well, they needed to find that resolve on Sunday and find it they did, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and coming back from down 13 points with less than two minutes left to stun Cleveland, 31-30, for their first win of the season.
“We’re off the schneid; love the way this feels, but gotta find a way to stack them up,” head coach Robert Saleh said moments after the game. “A lot of stuff we have to clean up, but just proud of the guys because we didn’t quit. That’s probably the biggest thing to take away from it.”
The game was close throughout the first three quarters, as it was 7-0 Cleveland, 14-14, and 17-14 Browns at the end of the first three. But in the fourth, after the Jets kicked a field goal to tie it up less than a minute in, Cleveland scored two touchdowns on three possessions, while the Jets twice went three-and-out and gained just eight yards – and it was another mistake, a missed tackle on Nick Chubb, that allowed Chubb to rumble 12 yards into the end zone just after the two-minute warning.
As it turns out, a blessing in disguise.
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“I’ve never been so happy for a missed tackle in my life,” Saleh smiled.
Browns kicker Cade York missed the second PAT to keep it at 30-17, and after the ensuing kickoff, the Jets needed just two plays to cut it to six – a short pass to Tyler Conklin and a 66-yard strike to Corey Davis – and they then lined up for an onside kick that would likely determine the game.
That it did…for the Jets, who recovered with 1:18 left and promptly marched 53 yards in less than a minute, Flacco finding Garrett Wilson for a 15-yard TD on a third-and-10 with 22 seconds left (Wilson’s second TD of the day) to tie it up.
“That was our only chance, and credit to the offense who stepped up, took advantage of a busted coverage on Corey’s play, and left us enough time to be able to get the onside going,” Saleh said.
“This offense…the OC did a great job trusting us, the line did a great job holding up, and the rest of the job was easy,” Davis added.
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Greg Zuerlein, who had a disastrous Week 1, continued a perfect day with his fourth PAT, and a few minutes later, Ashtyn Davis intercepted Jacoby Brissett to seal the win.
"No quit in us. We're gonna keep fighting regardless of the circumstances. I love this team,” Davis told SNY after the game.
“Not one time when we were down did the guys on the sideline think we were done. We’ve seen adversity before, and I’m just proud of this team,” Corey Davis added. “We’ve got some dudes, and once we figure this out…this is a good first win, and on to the next.”
All in all it’s the Jets’ first win in September since Week 1 of 2018, and hopefully a huge stepping stone and building block for the rest of the season.
“It's big, man. We knew what we wanted to do when we came in here and we knew what it was going to take,” Corey Davis said, “and we came out and handled business.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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