CINCINNATI — The Jets did not have a lot of positives to point to after their 17-6 loss to the Bengals last night in their preseason opener. But first-round pick Quinton Coples proved to be a bright spot.
The defensive end, who the Jets selected with the 16th overall pick in April’s draft, had a big night. He finished with five tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a tackle for loss. He also batted down a third-down pass.
“Quinton Coples, I thought, had a tremendous game … some real encouraging things by Quinton,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “It’s not surprising.”
Coples had a quiet start to training camp. The coaches cut down on the number of defensive packages he was in because they felt he was overwhelmed. But he showed flashes of why the Jets wanted him with their first pick.
“I did very well,” Coples said. “I don’t have a grade for it, but it was very productive. I also have a lot to improve upon as well. It starts [tomorrow] when we go back to practice. I look forward to looking at this game on film and correcting my mistakes.”
* The Jets had an injury scare, as safety Eric Smith injured his left knee and hip covering a punt. X-rays came back negative, but Smith underwent an MRI exam after the game. Results will not be known until today.
Smith suffered the injury in the second quarter when his legs got rolled up underneath him as he ran down in coverage, and he needed to be helped by trainers to limp off the field. They then worked on his knee and wrapped it in ice.
* Last night was confirmation Bilal Powell has passed Joe McKnight on the depth chart at running back. Powell was in with the starting offense on the first two third-down situations. He also drew the bulk of the carries with the second team and finished with five carries for 16 yards.
McKnight rushed for 32 yards on seven carries.
* Last night did nothing to clarify the Jets kicking competition, as both kickers made their only attempts. Josh Brown, who kicked first, hit one from 42 yards. Nick Folk then booted a 38-yarder. … Right tackle Wayne Hunter (back), wide receiver Santonio Holmes (ribs) and nose tackle Sione Po’uha (head) did not play.