Skip to main content
Advertising

Bengals Fall to Jets 39-38 | POSTGAME RECAP, NOTES & QUOTES

The winless Jets stunned the Bengals Sunday at Paycor Stadium when they exploded for 23 points in the fourth quarter while racking up 255 yards for the day on the ground in a 39-38 victory.

Running back Breece Hall, who rushed for 133 yards, took a pitch and rolled right to throw a three-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Mason Taylor, who reached over cornerback DJ Turner II with 1:54 left.

Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco, who was sacked for the first time all day to set up the winning score, threw incompletions on third and fourth down to end the game. He finished 21 of 34 for 223 yards and a passer rating of 100.5.

Flacco staked the Bengals to a 24-13 halftime lead, with touchdown passes to wide receiver Tee Higgins and running back Chase Brown.

The Bengals' first touchdown came off a fourth-down turnover when Jets head coach Aaron Glenn wasted no time with a 0-7 gamble. Six-and-a-half minutes into the game, he went for it on fourth-and-one from his own 37, and rookie linebacker Barrett Carter blew it up with penetration to drop Hall for a two-yard loss.

Five plays later, Flacco went behind center Ted Karras and tight end Drew Sample pushed him into the end zone to put the Bengals up, 10-0, with 5:35 left in the first quarter.

NOTES

Running Back Duo Leads Offense

The Bengals finished with 181 net rushing yards, their most in a game since they had 183 in the 2023 season finale against Cleveland. Leading the way in that effort was Samaje Perine, who logged 94 yards on nine carries, and Chase Brown, who churned out 73 on 12 attempts. Both players also found the end zone, as Perine darted for a 32-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Brown broke the plane for a one-yard score in the fourth.

Perine's 32-yard touchdown was the longest rushing score by a Bengals player since Joe Burrow's 47-yarder in Week 6 of last season against the N.Y. Giants. His 93 rushing yards on the day were the fifth-most in a game in his career, and his most since a 106-yard effort in Week 13 of the 2022 season against Kansas City.

Brown scored a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game for the second time in his career, with the previous instance occurring in Week 15 of last season at Tennessee.

Ja'Marr Nets 10+ Catches for Third Straight Game

Chase finished the afternoon with 12 catches for 91 yards. With 10 receptions in Week 6 at Green Bay followed by a Bengals-record 16 grabs last week against Pittsburgh, he became the first player in team history to register 10 or more catches in three consecutive games.

Chase now is up to a league-leading 70 receptions this season.

Tee Extends Streak with 44-Yard TD

Flacco rolled out on a play-action and launched a deep ball down the right sideline that Higgins brought in for a 44-yard touchdown, boosting Cincinnati's lead to 17-3 in the second quarter. It marked Flacco's longest touchdown pass since joining the Bengals three weeks ago, and was Higgins' longest scoring reception since his 80-yarder in Week 16 of the 2023 season at Pittsburgh.

Higgins now has a touchdown catch in each of his last eight home games, extending the longest such current streak in the NFL. The streak dates back to Week 5 of last season against Baltimore.

Brown Fights for End Zone Before Halftime

Flacco found Brown inside the red zone late in the second quarter, and the third-year back fought through a pair of tackles to extend the ball over the goal line for his first receiving touchdown of the season.

Brown's last receiving score came in Week 15 of last season at Tennessee. He now has six touchdown catches in his career.

The Bengals' 24 points in the first half were their most in an opening half since they also had 24 in that Week 15 win over the Titans last year.

Mac Gets Scoring Started

Evan McPherson gave the Bengals an early 3-0 lead with a 26-yard field goal to cap off an 11-play, 67-yard opening drive. Cincinnati featured a balanced attack during the drive, with six passes and four runs.

Flacco completed three of the six attempts on the possession for 32 yards, including a nine-yard connection with Chase on third down to keep the chains moving. Chase Brown added 31 yards on the ground, spearheaded by a 22-yard burst that put Cincinnati in the red zone.

Fourth-Down Stop Leads to Flacco Sneak

The Jets went for it on fourth-and-one from their own 37-yard line midway through the first quarter, and rookie linebacker Barrett Carter broke through the line to tackle running back Breece Hall for a two-yard loss. Cincinnati capitalized on the turnover on downs by marching 35 yards in five plays, culminating in Flacco's one-yard sneak to make it 10-0.

Carter finished with eight tackles. He entered the day with 36 stops on the season, tied for the eighth-most among all rookies.

On his one-yard sneak, Flacco became the oldest player in Bengals history to score a touchdown (40 years old). The previous oldest player was former receiver Terrell Owens at 36 years old in 2010.

Extra Points

  • The Bengals have scored 30 points in back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 9 and 10 of last season.

QUOTES

"It's still all on the table. It's still a long season. This is going to be a difficult season for a lot of teams, and so you've just got to be in the thick of it and give yourself an opportunity. This is one that we had right in our grasp, and that's the disappointing part about it. We were right there, we had this." - Head Coach Zac Taylor, on moving forward from the loss

Check out the best game photos from Bengals-Jets Week 8 game, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025.

Advertising