The New York Jets snapped their three-game losing streak in Week 5, defeating the Cleveland Browns 17-12 at MetLife Stadium. The win improves the Jets record to 2-3 while the Browns fall to 3-2.
It wasn't easy by any stretch and the weather was a factor all afternoon, but the Jets got a much needed win behind a terrific performance from the defense as well as 100 yard games from both running back Braelon Allen and wide receiver Garrett Wilson. The Jets head to Foxboro in Week 6 to face the New England Patriots, who easily defeated the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Here is Jets Wire's report card for the team's Week 5 victory:
Passing Offense: C
Geno Smith's numbers were somewhat pedestrian as he finished 17 for 30, 182 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He was
sacked four times on the afternoon, but a few of those sacks were due to him holding the ball for far too long when no one was open. On one of the four sacks, he fumbled which resulted in a Browns turnover.
Garrett Wilson was excellent as usual with his second 100 yard receiving game and scored the game's first touchdown. GW received the majority of the target share (11 targets) with Tim Patrick and Mason Taylor each targeted three times. It was a rough game for rookie Kenyon Sadiq with only two catches for three yards and a questionable fumble deep in Cleveland territory that cost the Jets a chance to add on to their lead. This offense badly needs Omar Cooper Jr. and Adonai Mitchell back and hopefully, one or both return next week against the Patriots.
Rushing Offense: A-
Braelon Allen had a great afternoon for the Jets with 24 rushes, 116 yards and the game deciding touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He averaged close to five yards per carry and was able to get extra yardage on some of his runs after initial contact. The Jets as a team rushed for 134 yards as outside of Allen's huge day, the combination of Isaiah Davis, Geno Smith and Isaiah Williams only had 18 yards on eight carries.
Passing Defense: B+
The Jets defense kept Deshaun Watson in check all afternoon as the Browns quarterback only threw for 155 yards and a touchdown. No sooner did fans and beat writers start second guessing the Jets decision to draft David Bailey over Arvell Reese after a whopping four games into his rookie season, the second overall pick had his breakout game with three sacks on the afternoon. The Jets defense had eight sacks total on Watson and probably should have had a few more, but he was able to escape due to poor tackling.
Will McDonald had the sack and fumble recovery that sealed the victory after taking down Watson on Cleveland's final drive of the game. Rookie Darrell Jackson Jr. had an excellent game with four tackles and his first NFL sack.
Rushing Defense: B+
Quinshon Judkins only rushed for 44 yards on 14 carries and was injured at some point in the second half. It's being reported that he was in the locker room after the game wearing a walking boot, which could mean Judkins missing some time. The Browns as a team combined for 96 yards on the ground with Watson rushing for 40 yards on six carries.
Special Teams: A
Jason Sanders was solid, making a huge 54 yard field goal in the elements as well as both extra points. Sanders has only missed one field goal in his first five games and has made two from over 50 yards, including today's which gave the Jets the lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Jets caught a break late in the game as a bad snap on a Browns punt was recovered by Trevin Wallace gave them excellent field position deep in Cleveland territory. Three plays later, Allen ran it in for the game winning touchdown from 22 yards out.
Coaching: B+
Aaron Glenn did a great job on defense today as not only did his pass rush have eight sacks, they also forced two turnovers. While it wasn't a great day for Frank Reich with the offense, they made the plays when needed and Braelon Allen had his best game as a Jet running the football. The offense is down four key players but still managed to get the job done thanks in large part to a dominant defense.
Glenn needed a win badly and the Jets delivered. It wasn't pretty by any means, but who cares. If any fan is complaining about this victory, then they simply enjoy being miserable. The weather was a big factor as were injuries to some pretty important players that really hurt the team's depth at wide receiver. But, they did just enough to get the victory and, for a fan base that was ready to begin their "woe is me" act after last week's loss to Chicago, getting the win by any means necessary is all that should matter at the end of the day.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Report card: Jets beat Browns, 17-12, in Week 5
