After three consecutive wins, the Jets fell back to earth by handing the Cinncinati Bengals their first win of the season on Sunday. Now 4-8 on the season, the Jets moved down two spots in the latest edition of USA TODAY’s NFL power rankings.
New York moved down from No. 19 to No. 21 after losing to the Bengals, 22-6. The Jets could not string four wins together after coming out flat in a lackluster post-Thanksgiving loss.
With Sunday’s loss, the Jets became the first team in NFL history to lose twice in one season to teams with 0-7 records or worse.
The Jets could not stop a red-hot Andy Dalton, who was getting the ball out quickly and taking advantage of the Jets’ deficiencies in the secondary in his return as Cincinnatti’s starting quarterback.
Jamal Adams, Arthur Maulet and Brian Poole were all injured or playing banged up as Dalton picked apart a team masquerading as contenders.
The Jets’ sluggish effort can be summarized by one statistic: the team failed to make one offensive trip to the red zone.
As for the rest of the AFC East, the 9-3 Bills moved up two spots to No. 9 after knocking off the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. The Dolphins came away victorious after upsetting the Eagles and moved up two spots to No. 27. The Patriots fell out of the top five and landed at No. 6 following a Sunday night loss to the Texans in Houston.
Rounding out the top five are the Ravens at No. 1, the Saints at No. 2, the Seahawks at No. 3, the 49ers at No. 4 and the Texans at No. 5.