CINCINNATI — Breece Hall rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns and also tossed the go-ahead 4-yard scoring pass to Mason Taylor with 1:54 left to lift the New York Jets to their first win of the season, 39-38, over the shocked Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The Jets (1-7) ran up 502 yards of total offense in becoming the last NFL team to register a win this season.
Chase Brown ran for a score and caught a touchdown pass while Samaje Perine added 94 yards on nine carries for the Bengals (3-5), who blew a 38-24 lead with 10:21 left in the game. Ja’Marr Chase had 12 receptions for 91 yards.
Brown finished with 73 yards on 12 carries as the Bengals (3-5) had their biggest game on the ground this season. Making his third start, Joe Flacco finished 21-of-34 for 223 yards for the Bengals.
After a week of wondering if he would be the starting quarterback, Justin Fields played a nearly perfect first half, completing his first six pass attempts for 72 yards and a touchdown. Fields, who started after Tyrod Taylor was ruled out with a knee injury, finished the game 21-of-32 passing for 244 yards.
New York moved within 38-32 on Hall’s 27-yard touchdown run and an ensuing two-point conversion pass to Isaiah Davis with 7:52 remaining.
The Jets forced a three-and-out and drove 58 yards, and just after the two-minute warning, Hall took a pitch from Fields and tossed the ball 4 yards to Taylor in the back corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score.
The Jets played without leading receivers Garrett Wilson (knee) and Josh Reynolds (hip) and top corner Sauce Gardner (concussion).
The Bengals lost defensive end Trey Hendrickson to a hip injury just before halftime. Hendrickson, who returned Sunday after missing the Thursday night win over Pittsburgh with the same injury, did not return in the second half.
The Bengals opened the game with a promising drive, highlighted by a 22-yard run from Brown that set them up at Jets’ 12-yard line. But the drive stalled from there, with a 4-yard run and two incompletions over the middle. The Bengals settled for a 26-yard field goal from Evan McPherson and a 3-0 lead.
Flacco scored on a 1-yard sneak and threw touchdown passes to Tee Higgins and Brown to build a 24-13 Cincinnati halftime lead.
At halftime, the Bengals honored their 11th and 12th inductees to the Ring of Honor. Former offensive lineman Dave Lapham and former defensive back and star punt returner Lemar Parrish saw their names and numbers go up on the east facade of Paycor Stadium while receiving their Ring of Honor jackets.
Before the game, the Jets received word that former center and team Hall of Famer Nick Mangold died at the age of 41, after a battle with kidney illness.
–Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media
