The winless Jets stunned the Bengals Sunday at Paycor Stadium when they exploded for 26 points in the second half while racking up 255 yards on the ground in a 39-38 victory.
Running back Breece Hall, who rushed for 133 yards, took a pitch and rolled right to throw a three-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Mason Taylor, who reached over cornerback DJ Turner II with 1:54 left.
Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco, who was sacked for the first time all day to set up the winning score, went into the locker room with a right shoulder injury, came back in for the last series, but incompletions on third and fourth down ended it. Flacco finished 21 of 34 for 223 yards and a passer rating of 100.5.
Flacco staked the Bengals to a 24-13 halftime lead, following up his 108.6 passer rating against the Steelers with a 135 chiseled out of 15 of 20 passing for 178 yards and touchdown passes to wide receiver Tee Higgins and running back Chase Brown.
The Bengals’ first touchdown came off a fourth-down turnover when Jets head coach Aaron Glenn wasted no time with a 0-7 gamble. Six-and-a-half minutes into the game, he went for it on fourth-and-one from his own 37, and rookie linebacker Barrett Carter blew it up with penetration to drop running back Breece Hall for a two-yard loss.
Five plays later, Flacco went behind center Ted Karras and tight end Drew Sample pushed him into the end zone to put the Bengals up, 10-0, with 5:35 left in the first quarter.