BALTIMORE — New quarterback, same result for the Jets.
Behind their defense and Derrick Henry’s two rushing touchdowns, the Ravens (6-5) defeated the Jets (2-9) 23-10 in front of 70,029 people on a sunny afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium. The Jets have lost two straight after they had a two-game winning streak with victories against the Bengals and Browns earlier this season.
Henry finished with 64 rushing yards in addition to his two scores. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had a pedestrian performance, completing 13-of-23 passes for 153 yards.
Tyrod Taylor, who started after Jets head coach Aaron Glenn benched Justin Fields, finished 17-of-28 passes with 222 yards and a touchdown. Breece Hall recorded 119 all-purpose yards, but fumbled in the fourth quarter on the two-yard line with the Jets down 10 points.
Taylor started his second game of the season after Fields, who started the previous seven games. In Week 3, Taylor also started after Fields suffered a concussion.
The Jets offense has been dreadful most of this season, ranking at or near the bottom of the NFL in several categories, including yards and points per game. Fields had been ultra-conservative, rarely throwing the ball downfield and giving his receivers opportunities for explosive plays, which is one of the reasons Glenn had to make the switch.
Taylor has never been shy to throw deep passes, and his play early in the game allowed the Jets’ passing game to flourish. His best drive came during the second quarter, when he led the Jets on a 12-play, 79-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown. That includes his 13-yard pass to John Metchie III, which gave the Jets a 7-0 lead.
With Garrett Wilson on injured reserve due of a knee injury, the Jets started Metchie and Adonai Mitchell, who were both acquired at the NFL trade deadline. Veteran Tyler Johnson, who has started five games this season, was surprisingly inactive against the Ravens. Metchie has two touchdown catches in his three games since joining the team.
Down 20-10, the Jets had a chance to cut the lead to three points with less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter after Hall registered a 40-yard reception. However, on second and goal, Marlon Humphrey stripped Hall and the Ravens recovered to end any chance of a possible comeback.
Gang Green’s defense, which has surprisingly been one of the worst units in the league this season, made it difficult for Jackson and the Ravens offense to move the ball down the field in the first half.
Gang Green kept Baltimore out of the end zone during the first 30 minutes and it led 10-3, which led to boos from Ravens fans. The Ravens’ offense was also 0-for-5 on third-down conversions and was held to 73 yards in the first half.
However, it was a different story after halftime and the Ravens captizlized on a couple of key penalties. Baltimore got the ball first to begin the second half and it appeared Gang Green was about to get the ball back before a pass interference by Isaiah Oliver on 3rd and 15 gave the Ravens a brand new set of downs. That later turned into a two yard touchdown run by Henry after a 11-play, 45 yard drive and the Ravens took a 10-7 lead.
After the Jets failed to convert on fourth down on their 42 yard line, the Ravens were already in scoring position. But Tony Adams was called for pass interference after tripping Zay Flowers and that helped set up Henry’s second touchdown, which extended Baltimore’s lead to 17-7.
The Jets got the ball back with 3:11 remaining at their five yard line, but a 10-point deficit with such little time remaining was too much to overcome.
The Jets will return to MetLife Stadium next week to host the Falcons for the first of two consecutive home games.
