Bengals - Jets Notes: Second Half

> After a short kickoff, the Jets start with Smith under center handing to Greene, which gets nine, then the regular QB does the same for a first down and the ball in Bengals territory. Greene enjoys another big hole for nine yards, and if this were a fight, the Bengals would be getting a standing eight right now. Greene for another solid eight and the first, and the Jets are looking like they earned those three OL Pro Bowlers. Smith tries a bootleg that doesn't work, but he gets back to the line for two yards. Jones gets another couple of yards, and this a field goal third down here. Ryan stays conservative by running it on third and six, and Feely's try from 42 is dead solid perfect... but Joe Idiots miss that there's a flag on the play. Feely's try from 47 is also good, but the Jets blow it again with a false start. Wow, that's bad. Rather than try it from 52, Feely has to punt it, and he does to the 12. That's just terrible non-Feely special teams by the Jets there.

> Benson with a burst, and for all the good things that the Jets have done in this game, the Edwards drop and the field goal penalties means they are only a play away from being tied. Benson makes a great play to keep his feet and the first down, as Jets DE Calvin Pace doesn't wrap up. Benson now with 15 carries for 86 yards against a good run defense. Palmer misses Coles badly, not that he was open anyway; looks like a missed connection there, or Palmer really is horrible. Benson goes for 27 yards on a draw, and he's keeping them in the game. It also helps that Ochocinco held Revis on the play. Palmer then throws deep for the third penalty of the day on Revis, and if that's defensive pass interference, I'm an airplane. Benson with another nice hole on first, but the Jets are ready for it on second. A big third and five in the red zone sees Jets CB Lito Sheppard dominate reserve WR Andre Caldwell, and the drive ends with Bengals kicker Shayne Graham missing from 35. That's a big, big miss, and the Jets dodge a bullet.

> Sanchez shows patience to Cotchery, who stays in bounds again for an 18 yard gain on first down. Greene rumbles for 16 more, and we're back to that standing eight count moment, with the left side of the Jets OL really delivering the goods, but the offense burns a timeout and gives the Joes more time to fellate Sanchez. It looks justified as he hits Cotchery on a slant for the first down. Greene for another six, and yes, he really is a better RB than starter Thomas Jones. A toss to Greene loses two and sets up another huge third down, and before the snap, the offense burns another time out, but it pays off on another sharp throw from Sanchez to Edwards, who can't drop the ball because it was impaled into his stomach. Jones then finds the end zone on a middle run, and given the play of the Jets' defense, feel free to call that a kill shot. The really surprising thing is that this game could easily be a 24-point game for the visitors.

> On the subsequent Bengals drive, it ends on pressure and a near pick on third and six, and honestly, Bengal Fan, feel free to beat the traffic; short of a Jets' turnover here, this one is Oh Ver. Three Jet runs, the last being more useless Wildcattery, ends in a punt, so at least there is some drama, especially with Feely's punts starting to lose their potency. Ochocinco finally makes a catch on Revis, and that's nine yards and the ball in Jets territory; Benson then takes it to the house on a shocking lapse in containment, and just that fast, it's a seven point game with 11 minutes left. Benson now has 21 carries for 169 yards and a touchdown, and yes, he's having quite a year, really. Jets 21, Bengals 14.

> Smith backs up a lot to return the kickoff, then brings it back to the 31. Greene only gets two to the right, and the Bengal defense looks more more involved now; the Jets are not going to be able to just run this to win. The Jets then catch the overplay with a perfect bootleg to Keller, and the TE takes it for 41 immense yards. Greene loses two on first as the clock winds down to nine minutes, and the defense is selling out to stop the run. Ryan keeps it on the ground on second, and Greene collects another first down on immense holes to the left; the Jet offense is answering big here. Greene shows disdain for the tacklers as Idiot Joes fellate Sanchez for actually burning clock, like, say, an NFL QB. A dicey slant to Cotchery gets the ball to the three, and on third and two, Jones is just short of the first. Ryan thinks about it for a while, but finally takes the Feely field goal, which is only just snapped before the play clock runs out. With less than six minutes left, it's Jets 24, Bengals 14. Sanchez is now 12 of 15 for 182 yards; Palmer is 12 of 21 for 84. Who's the rookie again?

> Short kicks have been a problem all day for the Jets, and this one is no exception; the Bengals start at their own 37. From the gun, Palmer is high to Coles, who can't hang on, and both Bengal WRs were in the same place. Not exactly filled with fear of the Bengal passing game here. A slant to Caldwell looks OK and gets the first as the Bengals go to no huddle. From the gun, Palmer and Coats can't connect with moderate QB pressure. On second, Coles collects a short slant and a lot of pain; he looks concussed. On third, Palmer finds Cosby for an out and a first; big play, really. Palmer starting to feel more pressure as Caldwell can't corral a short one. From the gun on second, Palmer and Ochocinco are confused, and wow, you can't have that in a playoff game. On third and 10 from the Jets 41, Cosby can't make the catch, but the refs bail out the wideout, and that's five yards, a first, and a Continuation Of Drama, especially as two Jets defenders have limped off in this drive.

> Palmer misses badly on first, but he is getting time to throw, and on second, Cosby collects a first down and extra yards for a late hit. Wow, the Jets defense are really not playing smart on this drive. With just over 4 minutes left, the Bengals are on the Jet 11, and Ochocinco almost pulls in a corner ball for the touch, but he doesn't have possession before the feet come down. Palmer is lucky to avoid grounding on second, and say this for the Bengals -- they are running a ton of plays with the clock not moving much. On third and 10 from the gun, Palmer misses Caldwell, and the Bengals have to kick a field goal here... and Graham misses that one as well. Wow. Blown kicks from 35 and 28, and you can't say how big that is.

> The Jets are just looking to burn clock now, and do with Jones. Three runs get five yards, burn all three Bengal timeouts, and use all of 20 seconds. Feely's punt dies at the Bengal 46. Palmer to Ochocinco as the Jets play soft, and that gets 19 yards. A draw by fullback Brian Leonard is 18 yards of nothing, thanks to a holding flag. Yeesh. Leonard with a nice effort to get out of bounds on a screen. The offense drops back five more on an illegal shift, but the Jets take the incomplete to Caldwell instead. A clinching sack on 3rd and 14 doesn't even bring boos from Bengal Fan, and on 4th and 22, Palmer is impounded for good on a sack. We go to commerce before the Jets kneel and win.

> So that, well, is that. The Bengals could have been in this game with a working field goal kicker, but they also could have lost by 20+ points, and didn't have anyone other than Benson show up on offense today. The Jets will either go to Indy or San Diego next, and I suspect they'll lose there, but after this game, you can see how a team might not want to face them... and unless I'm mistaken, Rex Ryan now has one more playoff win than his dad. Not a bad year at all for Jets Fan.