The Sports Xchange
Oct 23, 2016
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Matt Forte generated 155 yards in total offense and scored two touchdowns Sunday afternoon as the New York Jets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 24-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium.
The Jets (2-5) lost starting quarterback Geno Smith in the second quarter but pulled away in the second half thanks to Forte, who had 103 total yards in the final two quarters. New York's opportunistic defense picked off Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco twice to set up a pair of scoring drives.
Chris Moore recovered a fumble in the end zone and Justin Tucker kicked three field goals for the Ravens (3-4), who have lost four straight. Flacco was 25 of 44 for 248 yards and the pair of damaging interceptions.
Forte, who caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and scored on a 1-yard rush in the third, rushed 30 times for 101 yards and caught four passes for 54 yards. He had just 125 all-purpose yards in his previous three games.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who lost his starting job after throwing two touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the four-game losing streak, was 9 of 14 for 120 yards and one touchdown after Smith (4 of 8 for 95 yards and a 61-yard touchdown to Quincy Enunwa) was injured while being sacked.
The Ravens scored the game's first points in unusual fashion after Jets punter Lachlan Edwards let a snap sail through his hands deep in New York territory. Edwards fumbled as he tried to pick the ball up and Moore recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.
Tucker's first field goal, a 50-yarder, extended the Ravens' lead to 10-0. The Jets responded on their next drive, when Enunwa took a short pass from Smith and outraced the Baltimore secondary for a 69-yard touchdown - the longest pass play of the season for New York.
The Ravens extended their lead to 13-7 on Tucker's 49-yard field goal before the Jets went ahead on Fitzpatrick's first series, an 85-yard drive that he capped with the touchdown pass to Forte with 1:45 remaining in the half.
Tucker hit a 44-yard field goal as time expired to give the Ravens a 16-14 lead.
The Jets outscored the Ravens 10-0 during a chaotic third quarter. Buster Skrine picked off Flacco just beyond the midway point of the period and returned it to the Baltimore 3-yard-line to set up a go-ahead 22-yard field goal by Folk.
Marcus Gilchrist picked off Flacco on the Ravens' next drive and returned it to the Ravens' 24-yard-line. Five plays later, on third-and-goal from the 6-yard-line, Lawrence Guy forced a Forte fumble, which Timmy Jernigan picked up and began to return. But Brandon Marshall jarred the ball loose and recovered it to give the Jets a fresh set of downs at the 5-yard-line.
Forte scored from 1 yard out three plays later.
NOTES: A moment of silence was held prior to the game in honor of former Jets DL Dennis Byrd, who died in a car accident Oct. 15. His family served as honorary captains for the Jets during the coin flip. ... Each team had multiple key defensive players among its inactives. For the Jets, DL Muhammad Wilkerson (ankle) and ILB Darron Lee (ankle) were out, as was ILB Erin Henderson, who was placed on the illness/non-football injury list Saturday. ... The Ravens were without LB Terrell Suggs (biceps), LB Elvis Dumervil (foot) and LB C.J. Mosley (thigh). ... The Ravens, who lost to the New York Giants 27-23 at MetLife Stadium last week, are only the fourth team to visit the Jets and Giants on consecutive weeks since the two teams began sharing a stadium in 1984. The Indianapolis Colts (1993), Washington Redskins (1999) and Chicago Bears (2006) also did it.