The Jets had not scored points in the first quarter or the final two minutes of the first half of any of their first six games this season, but they were able to put both of those streaks to bed on Sunday.
Michael Carter ran for a touchdown on their first possession of the game and Mike White found Braxton Berrios for an eight-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the half to cut the Bengals lead to 17-14 before the break. Berrios’ catch came a couple of plays after an acrobatic catch in the end zone by Keelan Cole was overturned because he was found not to have kept control of the ball while going out of bounds.
That call was not popular with the Jets crowd, but Berrios’ catch ensured they’d get points before the half was out.
White is 23-of-29 for 217 yards overall and he had a pair of interceptions in the first quarter that helped the Bengals find their footing after a shaky start. They only had two net yards after their first four possessions, but found smoother sailing as they put up 10 points on their final two drives of the half.
Joe Burrow is 10-of-16 for 82 yards and a touchdownn to Ja’Marr Chase through 30 minutes. He was also sacked twice and the Bengals went for some trickery when wide receiver Tyler Boyd hooked up with Joe Mixon for a 46-yard gain during the first half. Chase had a drop in the end zone after White’s first interception and has two catches for 11 yards on the day.
The Jets lost left tackle George Fant to an ankle injury late in the half and he’s being called questionable to return.