Brad Smith leads the charge for the New York Jets over the Cincinnati Bengals
A game hinged on a few big plays as the New York Jets, once again, did not exactly instill fear in their opponents en route to collecting a 26-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at the New Meadowlands
Stadium on Thursday 25 November.
How it happened
It's hard to rightly describe what position Brad Smith plays for the Jets. Although he's listed as a wide receiver, he also plays the quarterback position in their wildcat formation, and is involved in
every type of special teams play. Last night against the Bengals he was the X-factor for the Jets, scoring two touchdowns.
Smith's first came on just the Jets' second play of the first half when he ran an end-around play 57 yards for a touchdown. Smith got a second touchdown after the Bengals had scored a fourth quarter field
goal to bring the game to 17-10, and he ran the ensuing kick-off back 89 yards after a mazy run through the Bengals' tacklers.
A key swing in momentum occurred late in the third quarter with the score at 10-7, when the Bengals had stopped the Jets offence and forced them to punt. Steve Weatherford's kick struck Andre Caldwell
as he was running back to block and was eventually recovered by James Ihedigbo. The Jets converted the turnover into seven points when Sanchez hooked up with Santonio Holmes on a 13-yard strike.
After some trash talking in the lead up to the game, Bengals receiver Terrell Owens found himself stranded on "Revis Island" as Jets corner Darrelle Revis limited Owens to just three catches for 17 yards.
What they're saying
"He's a phenomenal athlete," Jets head coach Rex Ryan said about Brad Smith after the game. "Everything we ask him to do, he does."
On his kickoff return for a touchdown Smith was able to find an extra gear as he sped past his opponents even though one of his shoes had fallen off. "I think all that running in the backyard with no shoes
on with my brother, that helped," Smith, who accounted for 200 hundred all-purpose yards, told reporters with a smile. "You want to be a catalyst when you're on the field. That's what it's really about, that when you're down a little bit, just being able to
be a spark."
What it all means
The Jets improved to 9-2 on the season to keep pace with their division rivals the New England Patriots who also won on Thanksgiving Thursday. The two teams will meet each other with top spot in the AFC
on the line next Monday 6 December.
Nothing seems to be going right for the Bengals who have now lost eight games in a row. They host the reigning Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints, next Sunday.
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