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 a two-game winning streak that included victories over 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.
The loss ensures the Jets will have a losing season for the 10th consecutive year. They have not finished the season with a winning record since 2015.
“Tough loss today,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “I feel bad for the players. I just told them how much I love them and the effort that they gave was outstanding.
“To not get a victory when I think those guys really played the first half exactly how we wanted to when it comes to taking the ball. The thing is, we have to coach better, we have to play better. And next week, that’s our plan.”
Tyrod Taylor, who started after Glenn benched Justin Fields, finished 17-of-28 passes for 222 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 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. Entering Sunday, the Jets were dead last in passing yards. 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 to a knee injury, the Jets started Metchie and Adonai Mitchell, who were both acquired at the NFL trade deadline, as the two starting receivers against the Ravens. 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.
“This definitely stings. I hate losing,” Taylor said about the loss. “But when you’re so close, it definitely stings. There’s only one winner at the end of the day, hats off to those guys, they battled their tails off. We’ll continue to keep doing what it takes week-in and week-out throughout the work week to fine-tune things and to get on the other side of this.”
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.
“I was just running the ball and I got turned, and once I got turned, my momentum was going away from me, and they started pulling the ball,” Hall said. “I just gotta be better with the ball security. That one stung.”
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. The Ravens had only two first downs in their first three possessions.
Gang Green kept Baltimore out of the end zone for the first 30 minutes, then the Ravens led 10-prompting 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 capitalized 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 an 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, which helped set up Henry’s second touchdown, which extended Baltimore’s lead to 17-7.
Gang Green’s defense continues to be the lone team in the NFL without an interception this season. The only turnover the Jets defense has registered this season came in their Week 6 loss to the Broncos when Jarvis Brownlee Jr. forced and recovered a fumble on the opening drive of the game.
The Jets got the ball back with 3:11 remaining at their five-yard line, but the Ravens’ 10-point deficit with so little time remaining was too much to overcome.
“You take that field with the belief you are going to win the game,” Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert said. “We work so hard during the week, and the coaches give us a game plan, and you grind and want to make that come to life.
“When you’re right there and you know what you need to do to finish it and you come up a little short, it’s tough. The only thing we can do is get back to work and keep at it.”
The Jets will return to MetLife Stadium next week to host the Falcons for the first of two consecutive home games.
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