Jets Get Crushed as Ravens Cruise to Week 1 Rout
Fresh faces and overwhelming optimism were on the menu for the Jets as they took the field at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon, beginning a new season with an opportunity to make a statement.
Just a few quarters later, however, boos rained down on Gang Green as the home crowd voiced their displeasure with a disappointing and familiar performance.
The Ravens were able to cruise to a Week 1 victory on Sunday, defeating the Jets, 24-9.
At times, New York demonstrated what they're capable of defensively, giving Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson fits while suffocating the running game. Any momentum they established early on vanished as this game progressed, though.
Some numbers are misleading. New York out-gained the Ravens by more than 100 yards, running far more plays while winning the battle for time of possession. The Jets were simply incapable of putting points on the board (not scoring a touchdown until the very end of the fourth quarter), digging themselves a hole with mistakes. Against a talented club like the Ravens, it's no surprise Baltimore was able to turn this into a romp.
Sunday's game began with both teams trading punts. Neither side put any points on the board until Baltimore capitalized on an interception from Joe Flacco late in the first quarter, leading to a Justin Tucker field goal from 24 yards out.
That was a trend throughout for the Ravens, who often struggled on offense early on, but excelled at taking advantage of good field position.
They took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter after a costly pass interference penalty on safety Lamarcus Joyner. That allowed Jackson to finish off a brisk 62-yard drive with a pretty 25-yard touchdown pass to Devin Duvernay.
At the conclusion of the first half, Greg Zuerlein capped off a promising drive for the Jets by drilling a 45-yard field goal, making it a one-score game. Still, heading back to the locker room, the Jets were 0-for-6 on third down, casting an ominous shadow over a strong first half from their new-look defense.
It didn't take long for the Ravens to pull away in the second half, continuing to make the Jets pay for their mistakes.
After a shanked punt from Braden Mann—a punt that soared just 20 yards, giving Baltimore the football in Jets territory—Jackson found Duvernay again for a 17-yard score.
Then, on the Ravens' next drive, Jackson uncorked a perfectly-placed deep ball to Rashod Bateman, a 55-yard strike to effectively put the game out of reach.
Jackson had been sticking to short passes for much of the game to that point, often dropping his arm angle and using his legs to move around in the pocket. On that play, he stepped up after rolling right and torched New York's secondary, splitting the safeties in what looked like a miscommunication that left the middle of the field wide open.
It's worth noting that the Jets had a real chance to flip the script earlier in that drive. Cornerback D.J. Reed (who later hauled in an interception) forced a fumble in space on Baltimore's Mike Davis. As soon as the football popped out, it looked like New York was destined to recover, with multiple white jerseys in close proximity. The Ravens were still able to pounce on it, keeping the drive moving and leading to the game-icing score.
Any hopes of a comeback were extinguished when rookie running back Breece Hall coughed up the football deep in Ravens territory with 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Fellow running back Michael Carter then dropped a touchdown pass at the goal line with four minutes left, sending fans rushing toward the exits to beat traffic.
It's hard not to be discouraged by this kind of performance. New York didn't convert a first down until midway through the fourth quarter. Sunday was also the Jets' 13th consecutive loss in the month of September. They haven't won a game in the season's opening month since Sam Darnold's debut back in 2018.
Jackson finished the game with 213 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Flacco, meanwhile, had 307 yards through the air, completing 37 of his 59 passes. He was sacked three times, under pressure for much of the afternoon.
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