Jets beat Browns for second straight win as Breece Hall, kick returners total three touchdowns
Jets wide receiver Isaiah Williams celebrates his punt return touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Brad Penner
The Jets had an eventful week and made some franchise-changing moves. It’s a good thing they didn’t trade their returners or Breece Hall.
Two special teams touchdowns and Hall carrying the offense on his back led the Jets to their second straight victory. They held on to beat the Cleveland Browns, 27-20, on an emotional Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, where the Jets honored the late Nick Mangold, who died two weeks ago.
“The whole situation is very sad,” Hall said. “It was just cool to go out there and get a win and celebrate him in a way that he should be celebrated.”
It was an emotional week overall for the franchise. Mangold’s funeral was Tuesday. On the same day, the Jets traded All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis for two first-round picks and All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to Dallas for first- and second-round picks.
It’s all about the future for the franchise, but the players showed resilience in coming out with the win.
The Jets are 2-7 heading into a Thursday night game against the Patriots.
“It was kind of heartbreaking to see them leave,” defensive end Will McDonald IV said. “But we’re going to continue to carry on with things that we have now and just keep trusting the process and we’re going to get it right.”
McDonald was a disruptive force Sunday. He tied the franchise record with four sacks as the Jets sacked Cleveland quarterback Dillon Gabriel six times. They had only 11 sacks before this game.
The play of the special teams got the Jets going and helped keep them in the game. Kene Nwangwu had a 99-yard touchdown on a kickoff return in the first quarter to tie it at 7-7. After the defense forced a three-and-out, Isaiah Williams returned the ensuing punt 74 yards for the score.
“We knew this was going to be a good defense,” Williams said. “We were like we got to be explosive in returns, and me and Kene, we took that personally.”
Williams, who was cut after fumbling a return in Miami in Week 4 and subsequently brought back, said special teams coordinator Chris Banjo came to him after Nwangwu’s touchdown and told him it was his turn.
“He literally came up to me and was like, ‘Now it’s your turn, let’s go,’ ” Williams said.
It proved huge with the offense scuffling. The Jets had more yards on those two returns (173) than they had net yards of offense (169).
Justin Fields completed 6 of 11 passes for 54 yards. Garrett Wilson left in the third quarter after reinjuring the knee that forced him to miss the previous two games. He didn’t catch a pass for the first time in his career.
It was the Hall show, especially with the game on the line, and he delivered.
Hall, the subject of trade rumors, totaled 125 yards of offense. He rushed 21 times for 83 yards and caught a screen pass that he took 42 yards for the touchdown that gave the Jets a 24-17 lead with 14:12 remaining.
“He’s our workhorse,” Aaron Glenn said. “When we needed him, he came through, and that’s something that’s not new for us. I trust him with everything. I trust the ball in his hands. And when times are tough, he will get the ball.”
In the last 18:35 of the game, the Jets ran 20 plays and Hall got the ball 16 times.
“We needed a lot of the run game, and a lot of it just so happened to be on me today,” Hall said. “So just following what the team needed to win.”
The Jets have been a part of seven one-score games. They lost their first five and have won two straight.
“It’s less about learning how to win than just being tired of losing,” Hall said. “I think that’s probably the biggest thing — everybody’s tired of losing.”
On the go-ahead touchdown, Cleveland sent an all-out blitz. Fields was under pressure and about to be drilled, but he dumped it off to Hall, who took care of the rest.
The defense came up with a big stop on Cleveland’s next series as McDonald sacked Gabriel on fourth-and-1 for a 7-yard loss.
On the next play, Hall rumbled for 30 yards to the Browns’ 40. Nick Folk kicked a 37-yard field goal to put the Jets ahead 27-17.
After Andre Szmyt’s 29-yard field goal with 2:57 left, the Jets benefited from two defensive penalties and Cleveland never got the ball back.
The Browns were called for holding Jeremy Ruckert on third-and-1. Later, Fields’ hard count got the Browns to jump offside on fourth-and-5 with 58 seconds left. The new set of downs gave the Jets a chance to get into victory formation for the second straight game.
“All during the week, so much noise, that’s really not by those guys in our locker room,” Glenn said. “They just block all that crap out and they just go and play football.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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