The hot-and-cold Jets (3-5) needed a win on Sunday to save their season. New York got one with a 31-28 victory over the winless Cleveland Browns (0-8). Here's what we learned:
- Ryan Fitzpatrick was a raging mess out of the gate, throwing for just 30 first-half yards against a Browns defense that allowed an outrageous 559 total yards last week to the Bengals. The Amish Rifle gained steam from there, guiding New York to 24 unanswered points in the second half. Fitzpatrick -- 16 of 34 for 228 yards -- kicked off the onslaught with a third-quarter rope to wideout Quincy Enunwa, who broke three tackles en route to a 24-yard score. Enunwa fried the Browns on the following drive, too, with a pretty 57-yard grab that set up Matt Forte's go-ahead touchdown run. Forte scored again on the following series to bury the Browns for good. While Fitzpatrick remains a week-to-week proposition, he did enough on Sunday to keep the Jets on life support.
- With strong-armed Josh McCown at the helm, coach Hue Jackson leaned hard on the vertical passing game, throwing the ball 20 times over Cleveland's first 25 plays to help forge a 20-7 lead at the half. McCown picked up where he left off in Week 2, ripping through New York's secondary for completions of 35, 32, 32, 24, 18, 17 and 15 yards. The offense vanished in the second half, though, with two straight punts before McCown -- 25 of 49 for 341 yards and two scores -- tossed back-to-back fourth-quarter picks to refocus Cleveland's attention on what really matters today: the Indians.
- Anyone still doubting Terrelle Pryor isn't watching him play. The massive-bodied Browns receiver piled up 101 yards playing primarily against Darrelle Revis. The Jets cornerback found out what NFL defenses have discovered week after week: Pryor makes plays no matter who he faces. The quarterback-turned-wideout crossed the 100-yard barrier with three-plus minutes left in the first half, but disappeared along with the rest of Cleveland's offense down the stretch. While elements of his game still require refinement, Pryor's performance won't stop the questions around the spotty play of Revis.
- Whispered about as trade bait, Browns cornerback Joe Haden shut out Brandon Marshall in the first half. The Jets wideout got going from there with 68 yards off four receptions. The story of the game for New York, though, was Enunwa, who anchored the air game with 93 yards off four grabs. A big target with strong hands and good speed, the third-year wideout found spaces in Cleveland's leaky secondary and also unleashed a handful of key blocks. On a team with too many aging and expensive players, Enunwa is a breath of fresh air.
- One week after giving up 271 rushing yards to the Bengals, the Browns saw a 10-0 lead evaporate with Bilal Powell's athletic 35-yard touchdown gallop through Cleveland's defense. Powell and Forte were held in check for much of the first half, but the young Browns defense hasn't learned how to play for four quarters, giving up a whopping 171 yards on the ground at 4.9 yards per clip.
