Jets Offense Shutdown In Baltimore

The Jets were looking for third string quarterback Brooks Bollinger to have a successful debut in his first career start at Baltimore. Instead, it was too much to ask for against a determined Ravens D which held the Jets to eight first downs (152 total yards) in a 13-3 loss Sunday, their second consecutive defeat.

The Ravens (1-2) got their first win of the season, holding Curtis Martin to just 30 rushing yards on 13 carries. With the Jets (1-3) being careful on offense, Baltimore took away Martin and forced Bollinger to beat them. The third-year QB was 14-of-28 for 149 yards in place of starter Chad Pennington, whose out for the season with a torn rotator cuff. Second stringer Jay Fiedler was also out with a shoulder problem.

While Gang Green struggled offensively, the Ravens did enough on the ground to win the game. They ran for 115 yards including 81 from Jamal Lewis on 29 carries with a score. Chester Taylor also had 11 rushes for 32 yards. Backup QB Anthony Wright was 15-of-21 for 144 yards and one interception.

In a predictably lowscoring first half in which the Ravens held the Jets offense to 37 total yards, Baltimore got two Matt Stover field goals to take a 6-0 lead to the locker room.

But early in the second half, the Jets defense provided an early spark when David Barrett forced a Lewis fumble and Victor Hobson took the ball 43 yards to the Baltimore 1. However, that one yard that could have given New York the lead proved too tough to get. The Ravens D stiffened, stuffing Martin on first down, then forced Bollinger's bootleg out of bounds for a loss and again stopped Martin on third down to hold the Jets to a Mike Nugent 21-yard field goal making it 6-3.

"That's one of the most disappointing things of the day," Bollinger said. "The (bootleg) we ran down there, I should have thrown that away. We ended up losing a couple of yards on it."

Up by three, Baltimore immediately responded with a crucial 13 play 71-yard scoring drive that resulted in a Lewis TD from one yard out, putting them ahead 13-3 late in the third quarter. On a day where the Jets offense struggled, that would be enough.

Bollinger finally moved them down field on their final drive, completing a 16-yard pass to Laveranues Coles and hooking up with Justin McCareins for 32 yards. But the drive stalled on the Baltimore 30 when Bollinger's 10-yard pass to Derrick Blaylock was short on fourth-and-16 with 2:38 left.

Baltimore ran out the clock to seal the win.