For one game at least, Mike Maccagnan's decision to trade for Brandon Marshall looks like a master stroke for the New York Jets.
Marshall made his presence felt in Sunday's 31-10 win over the Browns at MetLife Stadium. The veteran wide receiver caught a 1-yard touchdown pass over Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden, had a strip and fumble recovery moments after a Tashaun Gipson interception and made a pretty sideline catch to set up a touchdown.
The box score won't blow you away. Marshall didn't have a catch until late in the second quarter and finished with six receptions for 62 yards. But Marshall looked very much like a player who remains in or near his prime, providing the Jets with the type of red-zone threat the team hasn't had since Keyshawn Johnson in 1999.
"We understand each other," quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said, via the New York Daily News. "We had a couple nice ones today where I had to trust what he was going to do ... and he did what I thought he was going to do."
The strip of Gipson served as the game's turning point. The Jets were trailing 7-0 with 10 minutes to play in the second quarter when Fitzpatrick's pass was picked off. Marshall ripped the ball out of Gipson's hands as the two players fell to the ground, then returned the ball to the Cleveland 11-yard line. The Jets tied the game two plays later.
"To me, that was the play of the game," Jets coach Todd Bowles said.
