Week 1 went about as ugly as you can think for the Jets offense. Joe Flacco and company could not move the ball at all, at least not until the last few minutes of the game when they scored their only touchdown to tight end Tyler Conklin.
Both teams struggled on offense early on. Both the Jets and Ravens punted on their first two possessions. Then things got a bit ugly for the Jets.
Flacco threw an interception to Ravens safety Marcus Williams, setting the Ravens up deep in Jets territory at the 13-yard line. But the Jets showed off a bend-but-don’t-break style on defense, stopping the Ravens just outside the 5-yard line and Baltimore had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Justin Tucker to go up 3-0.
The teams exchanged a few more punts over the next five drives. But within those five drives, the Jets were moving well on offense, getting inside the 30-yard line, including back-to-back first-down throws to start the drive to Corey Davis and Michael Carter.
Unfortunately for the Jets, the drive was wasted when Greg Zuerlein missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, his first attempt in the regular season with the Jets.
The Ravens finally broke free with a 25-yard touchdown strike from Lamar Jackson to Devin Duvernay, with Bryce Hall covering him. That capped a three-play, 62-yard drive in just 56 seconds to put the Ravens up 10-0.
The Jets would add a field goal just before halftime, going 48 yards in eight plays as Zuerlein this time hit from 45 yards out. The Jets went into the locker room down 10-3.
The defense was feeling good about their performance. They held Baltimore to just 11 yards rushing on seven attempts. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t feel the same, despite having almost double the number of total yards of offense in the first half (169-92). The bottom line was they had just three points on the board.
The second half came and things started unraveling for the Jets, After the Jets recorded another three-and-out on their first drive of the second half, the Ravens began pouring it on. It helped that they started at the New York 44 after Braden Mann shanked a punt and went just 20 yards. It took Baltimore just six plays and 3:10 to find the end zone. It was Duvernay again from 17 yards out. Tucker hit the extra point and the Jets were down 17-3.
The next three drives for the Jets offense went as follows: punt, fumble, turnover on downs. Mixed in that stretch, the Ravens scored their second touchdown of the third quarter, a 55-yard bomb to Rashod Bateman, who was well behind the Jets secondary. All of a sudden, New York found themselves down 24-3 and the wheels were off.
Midway through the fourth quarter, cornerback D.J. Reed made an excellent grab to intercept Jackson on a pass intended for Demarcus Robinson. The Jets took advantage of that turnover by going 43 yards on 11 plays in 1:42. Conklin scored from three yards out to finally give the Jets a touchdown. Of course, Zuerlein would miss the extra point.
New York went for the onside kick but did not recover and Baltimore was able to go into victory formation. Final score: Ravens 24, Jets 9.
Flacco finished 37/59 for 307 yards, one touchdown, one interception and was sacked three times. That’s the most attempts for a Jets quarterback since Mark Sanchez threw 59 times against the Giants on Christmas Eve 2011.
Joe Flacco had 59 pass attempts. The last time a Jets QB had that many was Mark Sanchez — 59 pass attempts on Dec. 24, 2011 vs the Giants (30-59, 258 yds, 1 TD, 2 Int) — aka the Victor Cruz Game. #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) September 11, 2022
Carter ran ten times for 60 yards, rookie Breece Hall carried six times for 23 yards and lost a fumble.
Corey Davis led the way in receiving with 77 yards on six catches. Garrett Wilson caught four passes for 52 yards. Elijah Moore had 49 yards on five catches. Carter led the team in receptions with seven and had 40 yards, giving him 100 total yards for the day. Hall caught six passes for 38 yards, Branxton Berrios had 37 yards on five catches and Conklin with 14 yards and a touchdown on four catches.
Linebacker C.J. Mosley led the way with 11 tackles, while Quincy Williams had six tackles and Jordan Whitehead had five. The defense sacked Jackson twice: Williams had one and Jacob Martin and Jermaine Johnson each had a half-sack.
