After trading two of their star players this week, the Jets won their second game of the season.
Breece Hall’s 125 all-purpose yards and six defensive sacks helped the Jets (2-7) defeat the Browns (2-7) 27-20 on a rainy afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
“All through the week, so much noise and it’s really not about those guys in the locker room,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “Those guys just stayed focused.
“They just block all that crap out and they just go and play football. We’re trying to build something and there has to be a foundation that has to be set. And these guys understand that, and we’re trying to build that foundation and get to where it’s stable, then you can sustain winning. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The Jets said goodbye to Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams this week after they were dealt in separate trades to the Colts and Cowboys. They also traded cornerback Michael Carter II to the Eagles during their bye, a week earlier.
While the Jets may be peaking a bit towards 2026 after adding three additional first-round picks and one additional second-round pick over the subsequent two drafts, Glenn said this week, they were focused on trying to defeat the Browns, along with getting their first home victory and that’s precisely what they did on a day they honored one of their legendary players.
Before the game, the Jets honored former center Nick Mangold after he died of complications of kidney disease two weeks ago. Jets players wore Black shirts before the game that had an image of Mangold on the front and “A True Jet” on the back, along with his number 74. Former Jets tackle and Mangold’s teammate for 10 seasons, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, also spoke before the game.
Mangold’s wife Jennifer and their four children were on the field pregame as they served as honorary captains for the coin toss.
“It was cool not only to get that win, but with everything going on in regards to him and his family and everything,” Hall said about Mangold. “The whole situation is very sad. It was cool to go out there and get a win and celebrate him in the way he should be celebrated.”
The Jets were coming off its best game of the season two weeks ago against Cincinnati in its first win of the season. During that contest, the Jets finished with a season-high 502 yards.
Against the Browns on Sunday, the Jets reverted to the inept offense that has been displayed for most of this season. At halftime, they had just 62 yards and -5 passing yards. They finished with 169 total yards, with 127 of them coming on the ground.
The Jets’ passing offense continued to struggle until early in the fourth quarter when Justin Fields completed a screen pass to Hall, who scored on the 42-yard play, which gave them a 24-17 lead with 14:12 remaining.
Fields has been criticized for most of this season for his hesitancy to throw the ball downfield and his occasional inaccuracy. He was also blamed for the Jets 0-7 start to the season by owner Woody Johnson at the NFL fall meetings last month.
Against the Bengals, Fields had his best game in a Jets uniform after completing 21-of-32 passes for 244 yards with a touchdown pass. Against Cleveland, Fields finished 6-of-11 with 54 passing yards. But the Jets’ special teams, along with their rushing attack and defense, carried the team in the win against the Browns.
“I wasn’t happy just in general offense or defense in that first half,” Glenn said. “I thought in the second half, we did some things that gave us a chance to win. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
The Jets had just 13 net offensive yards in the first quarter. But that did not stop them from finding the end zone twice during the opening stanza.
Following a Dillon Gabriel nine-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku to take an early 7-0 lead, Kene Nwangwu returned the kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Then, after Corey Bojorquez’s 45-yard punt, Isaiah Williams scored on a 74-yard punt return, which gave the Jets a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
It was the first time in franchise history that the Jets scored a touchdown on both a kickoff return and a punt return in the same game. The last time that happened in an NFL game before Sunday’s game against the Browns was when the Ravens did it against the Bears in 2017.
While their offense has struggled for most of this season, the Jets’ special teams have been one of the few bright spots in what has been a disappointing season. Kicker Nick Folk has been flawless this season after converting all 19 of his field goal attempts. Rookie Austin McNamara entered Sunday’s game sixth in the NFL in net punting yards (43.7).
“That really changed the game, the momentum,” Williams said about Nwangwu’s return. “Like after he scored, everybody on the sideline was just like pumped.
“Right after that, Coach [Chris] Banjo came up to me like, ‘Now, it’s your turn.’ It just gave us even more confidence like ‘All right, we can go do this.’”
The Jets’ defense, especially Will McDonald, was relentless. He finished with four sacks against the Browns after entering the game with three in seven games.
“I was just telling [Glenn] I was gonna be relentless,” McDonald said. “I’ve been relentless since the beginning of the season.
“For me and the team too, that’s all we got to keep doing and I think we will be fine.”
In addition to its offensive struggles, New York had trouble rushing the passer this season, entering the game with 11 sacks, which was next to last in the league. Linebacker Quincy Williams, who was demoted this week, finished with five tackles and a sack.
Williams didn’t start the game during the Jets’ nickel packages, as he usually does, but was on the field during their 4-3 formation plays.
With the Jets leading 27-20 late in the fourth quarter, it appeared the Browns would have one last chance to tie or win the game in regulation. But linebacker Devin Bush was called for holding, which gave the Jets offense a first down with 1:50 remaining at their 44.
Then, on a 4th-and-5 play with 58 seconds left, Cleveland’s Cameron Thomas was also called for a neutral zone infraction, and the Jets received a new set of downs. They were then able to run the rest of the clock out after kneeling twice to end the game.
Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson exited the game during the third quarter due to a knee injury and did not return. It is the same knee injury that kept Wilson out for two games.
Jets cornerback Azareye’h Thomas suffered a head injury in the second quarter and was later ruled out. After he was hit while recording a tackle, Thomas was motionless for a few minutes before walking to the sideline under his own power. Glenn told reporters that Thomas will enter concussion protocol.
The Jets will return to action this Thursday and will play the Patriots on the road at Gillette Stadium.