Benched for first quarter, Edwards comes back with TD

MIAMI - The final decision wasn't made until about two hours before kickoff Sunday night, but the choice was unanimous: Five days after Braylon Edwards was arrested in Manhattan for allegedly driving while intoxicated, the Jets' 26-year-old receiver was benched for the first quarter of the Jets' game against the Dolphins.

"We've made our disappointment clear to Braylon," general manager Mike Tannenbaum said in a statement before the Jets' 31-23 victory. "Now he must deal with the consequences of his actions as the legal process runs its course, and the league will determine the appropriate discipline under the guidelines of the collective-bargaining agreement."

Tannenbaum, coach Rex Ryan and team owner Woody Johnson were in agreement about the plan to discipline Edwards. The receiver quietly endured his benching, but he made his presence felt later in the game, scoring on a 67-yard touchdown pass to give the Jets a 21-17 lead with 8:29 left in the third quarter. Edwards took a pass from Mark Sanchez near the sideline, spun around defender Jason Allen and sped up the sideline for the score.

"It hasn't been the best feeling," Edwards said after the game. "Luckily, I have teammates and an organization that have been helpful and positive. They've been right by my side and supporting me since Tuesday. They made it the best they could."

It was the culmination of a tumultuous week that created a firestorm of controversy around the team. Edwards is scheduled for a Nov. 9 court date to enter a plea on DWI charges. He was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan criminal court after being arrested at about 5 a.m. Edwards, who was driving his Range Rover with three passengers, including Jets teammates Vernon Gholston and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, registered a .16 in a Breathalyzer test, police said. That's double the legal limit of .08 in New York.

An ESPN report Sunday indicated that Edwards' blood-alcohol level might have been elevated because he was taking antibiotics. Edwards confirmed after the game that he was taking antibiotics for an ankle injury, but he said he couldn't comment further because of pending legal matters.

The Jets came under pressure to deactivate Edwards, but they stuck by their contention that the move would have violated the terms of the league's collective-bargaining agreement. The NFL's policy stipulates that players cannot be suspended or deactivated for a first-time DWI unless there are aggravating circumstances, such as physical injury or property damage. In Edwards' case, no one was injured and there was no damage to his vehicle or other property.

Edwards still could face sanctions, however. Because he pleaded no contest to assault charges filed last October in connection with a fight outside a Cleveland nightclub, he could be disciplined as part of the league's personal-conduct policy if he is found guilty or pleads guilty to DWI charges.

Edwards was not suspended after pleading no contest, but he was fined $200,000 by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. It is Goodell who will decide on any NFL sanctions of Edwards once his DWI case is resolved.

Edwards called Goodell on Friday to discuss his situation with the commissioner, but he did not reach him. He plans to speak with Goodell this week.

"He does a fine job with implementing the rules in this league," Edwards said. "I wanted to reach out to him, talk to him personally before he felt the need to reach out to me. I wanted to tell him about the situation in terms of being remorseful and not trying to be a misrepresentation of this league."

Ryan was urged by several in the media, as well as many Jets fans, to send a forceful message by not playing Edwards at all against the Dolphins. But Ryan said during the week that he didn't think deactivating Edwards was the right thing to do, and that benching him would serve as a "severe punishment."

Former Colts coach Tony Dungy, now an NBC commentator, thought Ryan should have benched Edwards for the entire game.

"I asked him what he was going to do, and he basically explained - just like he did to our crew - what he was going to do," Dungy said. "[Ryan] told me he felt Braylon had been punished enough. He had been embarrassed in the media, is going to lose money in free agency, so he didn't feel like he had to pile on him."