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The New York Jets’ Sunday began with a horrific loss, as legendary center Nick Mangold passed away after a long battle with kidney disease.
But his former team honored him in the biggest way with a miraculous win for its first victory of the season in a 39-38 thriller against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Justin Fields and the Jets offense scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to stun Joe Flacco and the Bengals, as they improved to 1-7 on the season. Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s momentum stalled after a big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are now 3-5 on the season.
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Justin Fields of the New York Jets carries the ball for a two-point conversion against the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter of the game at Paycor Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The fourth quarter began with the Bengals leading 31-16, as Flacco picked up where he left off in the Steelers game and continued to put the Bengals in position to score touchdowns. But Fields, who came into this game with a lot of focus on his play this season, continued to move the ball and stay in the game.
So the quarterback saw running back Breece Hall, who had 133 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns, rush 35 yards to settle in the red zone. A few plays later, he got into the end zone, and instead of going for the extra point, the Jets scored two points with Fields breaking the field.
With the score 31-24 in favor of Cincinnati, the Bengals running game responded with Chase Brown and Samaje Perine leading the way on the ensuing drive that ended with the former scoring his second touchdown of the game.
JETS LEGEND NICK MANGOLD DEAD AT 41 AFTER COMPLICATIONS FROM KIDNEY DISEASE
But, once again, the Jets came right back, as Hall’s second touchdown of the quarterback was a 27-yard run in which he evaded several tacklers, stayed inbounds and found the colored paint. The Jets scored two for the second straight drive, and that was the crucial moment as Isaiah Davis caught the pass and just crossed the goal line upon review to make the score 36-32.
Breece Hall of the New York Jets scores a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter of the game at Paycor Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Still, the Jets defense had to stop as Flacco continued to dissect them up to that point. Mission accomplished, as Will McDonald IV got the Jets’ first sack of the game on third-and-10, forcing a punt.
The Jets took advantage, running nine plays where Hall threw a touchdown to tight end Mason Taylor to take the lead after the extra point.
As the Jets celebrated, they knew the Bengals had all three of their timeouts and enough time on the clock to get within field goal range of Evan McPherson and attempt a potential game-winning field goal. But Flacco failed to find Andre Iosivas twice on third, fourth and 9 to turn the ball over on downs and give the Jets their first winning lineup of the year.
Justin Fields of the New York Jets passes the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter of the game at Paycor Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Looking at the score from the box, Fields went 21 of 32 for 244 yards with one touchdown pass and 31 rushing yards. His touchdown pass was intended for Tyler Johnson, who had three catches for 64 yards, late in the first half.
For Flacco, he went 21 of 34 for 223 yards with two touchdowns, with Ja’Marr Chase shining once again with 12 receptions for 91 yards. Tee Higgins only had one catch for Cincinnati, but it was a 41-yard touchdown for the Bengals.
