The New York Jets beat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-14 in a National Football League playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez completed 12 of 15 passing attempts for 182 yards and one touchdown. Shonn Greene rushed for 135 yards and one touchdown as the Jets (9-7) advanced in the playoffs.
Sanchez “has been getting better and getting better,” said Jets coach Rex Ryan. “You can see that swagger and confidence he has.”
The Bengals (10-6), who clinched the American Football Conference North Division, had 371 total yards, including 171 yards on the ground. They hadn’t won a playoff game since 1991.
“This wasn’t exactly what we had in mind, giving up 171 yards rushing, but our guys are a resilient bunch,” Ryan said. “It was a great team effort.”
Carson Palmer gave the Bengals a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter with an 11-yard scoring pass to Laveranues Coles. The quarterback missed connecting on 50 percent of his passes, ending up with 146 yards and one touchdown.
The Jets, the final NFL team to earn a spot in the playoffs, dominated the second and third quarters, outscoring the Bengals 21-0 on runs by Greene and Thomas Jones and Sanchez’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Keller.
Cedric Benson scored on a 47-yard run in the fourth quarter to narrow the gap to 21-14 before Jay Feely clinched the victory on a 20-yard field goal with just under six minutes left in the game.
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