NFL

Jets winners and losers: Give Tannenbaum his due

The Jets found a way to beat their rivals Sunday with the 30-27 overtime victory. They benefited from the Patriots’ penalty in overtime, but they also outplayed the Patriots, particularly in the second half. Here’s a look at the Jets winners and losers from the game:

WINNERS

ANTONIO ALLEN: This is how well Rob Gronkowski played in his first game of the season: He ended up with eight catches, and I still think Allen did a great job. Allen spent most of the day in one-on-one coverage with the big tight end, who was targeted 17 times. He had three passes defended, and the play of the game with his interception of Tom Brady returned 23 yards for a touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter.

The second-year safety had questions about his coverage skills coming out of college at South Carolina, where he played close to the line. He answered some of those Sunday.

JEREMY KERLEY: Geno Smith looked Kerley’s way on almost every third down, and Kerley always seemed to be open. Kerley converted six third downs, including one touchdown. Kerley has a knack for getting open and has been a consistent receiver for the Jets. Now, it appears Josh Cribbs will be the Jets’ punt returner over Kerley, which could help him on offense.

MIKE TANNENBAUM: This isn’t going to be popular, but the former general manager deserves a nod. He drafted Allen in the seventh round in 2012, Kerley in the fifth round in 2011. He signed Austin Howard off the Ravens’ practice squad, and Howard has stabilized the right tackle position. He’s also the guy who drafted Muhammad Wilkerson and Demario Davis and signed Damon Harrison.

There are plenty of things to knock Tannenbaum on, but this roster is better than we all thought this offseason. People said the cupboard was bare for John Idzik, but clearly Tannenbaum drafted and signed some good players in the past three years.

LOSERS

THE LEFT SIDE OF THE O LINE: It was a long day for guard Brian Winters and tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. They allowed two sacks each. Winters replaced Vlad Ducasse in the starting lineup a few weeks ago. He does not commit as many penalties as Ducasse and has more upside as a rookie, but at the moment he’s not that much of an upgrade.

Ferguson is not having a good year. He has given up four sacks and struggled in run-blocking at times.

JEFF CUMBERLAND: The big tight end has played well for the Jets this season, but he had an off day Sunday. He dropped a touchdown and had a big drop at the end of the game. The touchdown breakup was a nice play by the Patriots’ Devin McCourty, but Cumberland still should have been able to pull it in. He failed to catch a third down pass on the sideline in the fourth quarter that preceded the Patriots’ game-tying drive.

SANTONIO HOLMES: Remember him? The Jets offense looked OK without him Sunday, as it did two weeks ago against the Falcons. Geno Smith looks comfortable working with Kerley and David Nelson as well as Cumberland. Holmes can be dynamic at times (see: the Bills game), but he also can put pressure on a young quarterback to get him the ball. The Jets seem to be doing all right without Holmes.