CINCINNATI — The Jets picked up right where they left off the last time they visited Paul Brown Stadium. Fortunately for them, this one didn’t count.
Don’t be fooled by the final score — a 25-17 Jets win.
The Jets starters looked shaky against the Bengals first-team in Saturday’s preseason game, especially the secondary. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had his way, completing all eight passes he threw for 144 yards and a long touchdown.
The final score was not as bad as the 49-9 beatdown the Bengals put on the Jets last October, but it might have been if Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis hadn’t pulled his starters early in the second quarter. The first quarter felt like the fifth quarter of last year’s game. The Bengals led 17-3 when the starters exited the game.
But don’t tell Jets coach Rex Ryan he has problems in the secondary. The coach was defiant after the game, saying the media was overblowing the team’s issues at the position.
“I’m fired up because I know we’re a lot better than what we’re given credit for,” Ryan said. “This is a victory. We’ll take it. That’s a good football team. Hey, I recognize we’ve got some work to do. There’s no question.”
Ryan did crack, “Dalton looked like a $100 million quarterback today,” referencing Dalton’s recent contract extension.
The Jets were without both projected starters at cornerback, leaving Antonio Allen and Ellis Lankster as their starters. Allen converted from safety just five days prior, and he had to cover Bengals star receiver A.J. Green. Dalton only threw toward Allen once when he was in man-to-man coverage, a 35- yard pass to Green.
“It ain’t going to get worse than that,” Ryan said of Allen’s assignment. “You’ve already faced the best the AFC has. It’s not even close.
Everything from here on out will be downhill.”
Allen said he thought he fared well against Green.
“I think it went all right for the most part,” he said. “I felt comfortable. I’m still thinking about that one pass he caught on me.”
Dalton had fun against the Jets secondary again. He was a perfect 8-of-8 for 144 yards and one touchdown. He had a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating.
The Jets offense opened the game with a three-and-out, handing the ball to Dalton. He found wide receiver Mohamed Sanu for a 43-yard touchdown over Jets cornerback Kyle Wilson for a 7-0 lead. Ryan said there should have been double coverage.
The long pass to Green set up a 1-yard Giovani Bernard touchdown that put the Bengals up 14-3.
The Jets were completely undisciplined, picking up 12 penalties, seven of which were personal fouls.
The best news of the night for the Jets was the way quarterback Geno Smith played. He showed improved decision making, finding his check-down receiver and making some smart scrambles. His only big mistake was an interception by Terence Newman late in the first quarter that led to a Bengals field goal.
It looked like Smith and wide receiver David Nelson had a miscommunication. Nelson had not turned around when Smith fired the ball into Newman’s waiting arms. Smith finished the night 10-of-13 for 98 yards with the interception. He rushed for 20 yards on four carries and a touchdown.
Michael Vick only played with the second team in the second half. He went 5-for-9 for 70 yards and a touchdown. He ran the ball twice for 16 yards.
Things improved dramatically in the second quarter for the Jets against the Bengals’ backups. The defense shut down Bengals backup quarterback Matt Scott.
Demario Davis drilled Scott on a sack that forced a fumble. Rookie safety Calvin Pryor recovered the fumble on just his third play of the game. Pryor, the team’s first-round pick from May, made his Jets debut and showed why the team drafted him. He had a huge hit on Bengals receiver Cobi Hamilton that dislodged the ball, creating an incompletion. He blitzed on several plays and Ryan moved him around, playing him in the box and at deep safety.
Pryor said the game’s physical nature came because of last year’s game.
“When we were told we have to play the Cincinnati Bengals, it was the talk of the locker room,” Pryor said. “Guys, when they came to Cincinnati last year I believe it was, they felt they got embarrassed. So it was only right we get revenge on them and let them know — because we might have to play them in the playoffs.So this was a stepping stone to just let them know we’ll be ready to go in the playoffs if we meet you.”