New York Jets vs Cleveland Browns NFL Week 8: How Gang Green beat Hue Jackson and Josh McCown 31-28
Standing at 2-5 and last in the AFC East, the New York Jets were in danger of missing the 2016 NFL playoffs. In desperate need of a win, Gang Green took on Isaiah Crowell and the Browns in Week 8. How did the Jets defeat Cleveland 31-28 on the road?
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Jets rally past still winless Browns 31-28 | Boston Herald CLEVELAND — Down a couple of scores and 30 minutes away from a loss to that would have turned a disappointing season into something far more dire, |
| Source: www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots/2016/10/jets_rally_past_still_winless_browns_31_28 | |
The New York Jets defense was being picked apart by Josh McCown in the first half. The Browns quarterback kept on throwing to receiver Terrelle Pryor who constantly beat cornerback Darrelle Revis on routes. After 2 quarters, Pryor had six catches for 101 yards. The Browns had 14 first downs before halftime and gained 6.7 yards per play. New York was trailing 20-7 at halftime. Cleveland was moving the ball at will and it seemed as if they were going to blow out Gang Green.
…But the Jets made adjustments.
After allowing 20 points in the 1st 2 quarters, New York held the Browns scoreless in the 3rd and 4th quarters until Josh McCown threw a 1 yard touchdown pass to Andrew Hawkins with 12 seconds left in the last quarter along with the 2 point conversion pass to Terrelle Pryor. Although Cleveland had 274 yards in the 1st half, the Jets defense stopped them cold for 46 total yards in the 2nd half. Even Terrelle Pryor was contained as he had 0 yards in the final 2 quarters after having 101 yards in the 1st 2 periods.
McCown attempted to take advantage of the deteriorating speed of Darrelle Revis again in the 4th quarter by throwing a deep pass to Pryor from the Browns 29 yard line but it was intercepted by the safety Marcus Gilchrist at the Jets 30 yard line, which was the 1st turnover of the game. With 5 minutes left in regulation on Cleveland’s 6 yard line, Josh threw to the running back Duke Johnson on an inside slant but safety Calvin Pryor caused the football to pop up in the air which was then caught by the linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin. The pressure from Muhammad Wilkerson up the middle caused the QB to hurry the pass from inside his own endzone. By the time McCown threw the TD to Andrew Hawkins to bring the score to 31-26, there was only 12 seconds left in the game.
After dominating Gang Green’s defense for 2 quarters, Cleveland’s offense was stifled in the 2nd half. With the increase in the pass rush and turnovers committed by McCown, the Browns offense was held scoreless in the 3rd and 4th quarters, which allowed New York to come back from a 13 point deficit. The ability of the Jets to shut down McCown and Terrelle Pryor in the 2nd half was the reason why Gang Green beat the Browns.
