White Hot Upset

Locks be damned!

The Jets erased an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter as quarterback Mike White turned in a performance for the ages in his first NFL start. White threw touchdowns to Ty Johnson and Tyler Kroft before catching a two-point conversion on a Philly special pass from Jamison Crowder that put the Jets up 34-31 with just under four minutes to play in the game.

The Bengals routed the Ravens in Week Seven, but they came back down to Earth in a hurry in Week Eight.

Quinnen Williams ended the next Bengals drive with his second sack of the afternoon and the Jets got a key first down after the two minute warning when Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton was flagged for lowering his helmet to initiate contact. Michael Carter and White ran the rest of the time out after that questionable call.

White finished the day 37-of-45 for 405 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He joins Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks to throw for at least 400 yards in their first NFL starts and it’s fair to say that White, a 2018 fifth-round pick of the Cowboys who made his NFL debut last weekend, was the less likely member of the duo to pull that off.

The entire Jets offense looked nothing like the one that first-round pick Zach Wilson had piloted before last week’s knee injury. They started with a touchdown, shrugged off three turnovers, and moved the ball easily all day.

The Bengals got off to a slow start and failed to score points after a Jessie Bates interception set them up on the one-yard-line in the first quarter. They were able to straighten things out enough to go up 10 in the second quarter and 11 on Tyler Boyd‘s fourth quarter touchdown pass, but Joe Burrow was intercepted by Shaq Lawson after Johnson’s touchdown closed the gap to five points.

It was a curious decision to throw at that point and Bengals head coach Zac Taylor will be asked about that call after the game. His defense’s inability to stop the Jets and the flat start coming off last week’s win will also be topics of conversation before he turns his attention to the Browns.

The Jets will have a quick turnaround to face the Colts in Week Nine and the good feelings from this win might keep them floating all the way until that game kicks off.