» Following a season trend the Bengals gave up 10 points off turnovers. They have now allowed 112 points off turnovers on the season.
"That's the kind of year this has been," quarterback Michael Johnson said. "That's what makes it incredibly frustrating."
» The Jets held the Bengals to season lows of 163 total yards, 135 yards passing, and 46 yards rushing, but the killing plays came on special teams where the Bengals gave up 14 points. The Jets scored a touchdown two plays after a Kevin Huber punt bounced off Andre Caldwell and was recovered at the Bengals 14-yard line. Then with 12:18 remaining, Jets wide receiver Brad Smith broke the game open with an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said he didn't challenge Caldwell's play after conferring with the Bengals coaches in the booth.
"Three guys upstairs told me he touched the ball," Lewis said. Asked if he pinned the loss on special teams, Lewis said, "I pin this one on me."
» The Bengals defense played well for the most part. The only time it faltered came on the second play of the second half when Smith took an end around 53 yards for a touchdown.
"That's a play we have to get the guy on the ground," Lewis said. "That's a play that just by alignment we know is coming."
» One of the newest Bengals, cornerback Jonathan Wade, drew high praise in the locker room after making his seventh NFL start despite arriving in Cincinnati on Monday to help the depleted secondary. Wade, cut by the Lions two weeks ago, finished with three tackles, one tackle for loss, and one pass defensed. Asked if he felt the Jets were picking on him, Wade said, "Are you kidding me? I would have. I was home on Sunday."
Wade said he was lying in bed with his one-year-old son watching football on Sunday when the Bengals called.
"It was 4:15 and they wanted me to get on a 6:30 flight," he said. "I studied a lot ever since I got there and I felt pretty comfortable. In the end football is football."
» Second-year linebacker Vincent Rey came up with the first interception of his career early in the second half. With Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson harrassing Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, Maualuga came underneath running back Shonn Greene to give the Bengals the ball at the New York 36.
"It's my first one; I was just excited about it," Maualuga said. "What a way to do it, pick it off against my old teammate. That's what I was telling him after the game." Maualuga and Sanchez played together in college at USC.
» Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens had a season-low three catches for 17 yards in his showdown with Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.
"I was trying to get the best out of him," Owens said of calling Revis average earlier in the week. "Despite calling him average, the real talk is the guy is pretty good."
Asked how the Jets played him, Owens said, "They were sneaky with their disguises. They put the safety over the top a little and there were times I had him man-to-man. Those times we either ran the ball or the ball went elsewhere. I made the most of my opportunities."
» The Bengals struggled in the red zone again. They got one touchdown out of three trips and Palmer said the Jets stopped blitzing at that point and rushed only three.
When Palmer was asked about the effort of the Bengals he said, "Guys had the right eyes in the huddle. There wasn't a 'quit' look on anyone's face."
» Another rough game for kicker Aaron Pettey. After missing a 43-yarder in his NFL debut last Sunday he mised a chippy from 27 that would have tied the game at 10 late in the third quarter. Cue the Kris Brown discussion since he got cut by San Diego on Saturday.
"We were in there fighting and I let us down," Pettrey said.
