CINCINNATI — The Jets equipment staff will have a challenge this week getting the tire marks out of the team’s uniforms.
The Bengals ran over the Jets on Sunday, handing Gang Green an embarrassing 49-9 loss at Paul Brown Stadium, continuing the pattern of the Jets winning one week and losing the next.
This one was so bad the Bengals could have been charged with bullying as a Texas high school’s football team was accused of after a 91-0 blowout last week. The Jets were taken apart on offense and defense. Cincinnati did whatever it pleased and rolled over the up-and-down Jets who struggled to do anything right.
It is hard to find one Jets player who played well.
“It was a good old-fashioned [butt]-whipping today,” veteran guard Willie Colon said.
Rookie quarterback Geno Smith threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and looked totally overmatched. Smith was pulled from the game early in the fourth quarter after his second pick-six.
But it wasn’t just on Smith. This was a total team loss. From coach Rex Ryan, who did not have his team ready to play, to the hyped defense, which looked as if it could not stop a nosebleed.
“That was ugly, to say the least,” Ryan said. “We’re fortunate it only counts for one loss because you get your butt kicked like that, you know, we’re fortunate that is all it is. Obviously, we have to play a hell of a lot better.”
The 49 points scored by the Bengals tie the most the Jets have given up under Ryan, equalling what the Patriots put up in the butt-fumble game last Thanksgiving. It is the second worst loss in his time with the Jets, trailing only the 45-3 debacle against the Patriots in 2010.
“It’s shocking to me,” said defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who had an interception. “I thought we were way better than this. At the end of the day, we came up short, real short. We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and get ready for another great opponent coming up to our house. We’ve got to go from there. We’ll see.”
The see-saw Jets (4-4) fell two games behind the Patriots in the AFC East. The Bengals (6-2) remain in first place in the AFC North and showed they are one of the top contenders in the AFC. Even so, the size of the loss for the Jets was shocking coming one week after they defeated New England in overtime.
Now, the Jets come home to face the 6-1 Saints with Drew Brees at the controls and Ryan’s twin brother, Rob, ready to bring the heat on Smith.
“If we don’t play better than we did today, then hell yeah, that guy [Brees] will break every record known to man against us,” said Ryan, whose brother is the New Orleans defensive coordinator. “So I think we will play better.”
It would be hard to play worse. The Bengals gained 402 yards and basically called off the dogs early in the fourth quarter. It’s the first time the Jets have given up more than 400 yards since 2011.
On offense, backup quarterback Matt Simms led the team in rushing with 35 yards and Smith’s interception total ballooned to 13. Smith now has had three interceptions returned for touchdowns and one fumble that was brought back.
“It wasn’t a good performance for sure,” Ryan said of his young quarterback.
It was clear from the start it would be a long day for the Jets. The Bengals struck quick with quarterback Andy Dalton picking apart the Jets secondary. While all week everyone was focused on what Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green could do, it was third receiver Marvin Jones who stole the show.
The little-known wideout scored four touchdowns, tying the most receiving touchdowns the Jets have given up to a single receiver. The Dolphins’ Mark Ingram did it in 1994 and the Bills’ Jerry Butler did it in 1979.
Dalton finished 19-of-30 for 325 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. It was the first time a quarterback threw for five touchdowns against the Jets since the Dolphins’ Dan Marino did it in 1988. Dalton was surgical against the Jets defense. On the first drive, he picked on Jets cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and rookie Dee Milliner, who was benched in the first half.
Cromartie was called for pass interference on the first drive that moved the Bengals into scoring territory. Dalton hit Jones for a 9-yard touchdown to start the scoring barrage. The Bengals scored on both of their first two drives and took a 28-6 lead into halftime.
“We know we’re a better group than what we showed,” Cromartie said. “When you come off a win like we came off against one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and we come into this weekend and we basically go out there and lay an egg, every man needs to look at himself and figure out what they’ve got to try to do. What can we do to make this team better? What do we have to do to go out and win football games? We’ve just got to go from there.”
A few Jets said the team came out flat. No one wanted to blame that on coming off an emotional win last week over New England, but one day during the week Ryan said there was a lack of focus during practice.
“We just didn’t come out focused,” linebacker Calvin Pace said. “[Coming out flat] especially coming into somebody else’s home, you get your [butt] handed to you, which is what we did.”
Smith ended any hopes of a comeback when he threw his first pick-six on the first play of the second half. Ryan benched him after his second pick-six early in the fourth quarter with the score 49-9.
“I understand why the decision was made, but I always want to be in the game,” Smith said. “I never want to be in a situation where we’re down and I have to be pulled from the game.”