10/21 — Chad Pennington won't convert all his detractors with one good game against the hurting Bengals. But Pennington had a 151.8 passer rating on 10-for-14, 170-yard passing in the first hafl, and CBS analyst Solomon Wilcots, often a Chad critic, said, "Did someone say anything about arm strength?"

Pennington opens the third quarter the way he ended the second and actually the way he opened the game, with a beautifully placed 22-yard completion to TE Sean Ryan. The drive stalls after reaching the Bengals 21 with the Jets' first penalty in seven quarters, for illegal substitution. But Mike Nugent comes on for a 43-yard field goal, his third of the game and his second-longest since hitting a 50-yarder in Game 2 at Baltimore.

Jets 23, Bengals 10

The same secondary faces Carson Palmer, with Hank Poteat at LCB and Abram Elam at safety. But the Bengals decide to run at the Jets and Kenny Watson, who averaged 4.4 yards a pop on 10 first-half carries, improves that with consecutive runs of 2, 11, 7 and 4 yards and two first downs as the drive nears midfield.

Then a play fake to Watson that was good enough to force a Victor Hobson hold of Watson is declined because Palmer hits Chad Johnson on the sideline for 17 yards to the Jets 23.

But the Bengals continue to shoot themselves in the feet. DeDe Dorsey, spelling Watson, busts a 12-yarder into the red zone, but that's because there's holding. Kudos to referee Tony Corrente, who does not commit one of the faux pas of NFL officiating by announcing a bad number on a penalty. "Holding, offense, interior line," says Corrente.

The Jets nearly hold on third-and-11, except that Darrelle Revis is nailed for pass interference on the incompletion for WR Glenn Holt. So the visitors give the hosts some life with a first down at their 13. Then Watson gets a first-and-goal at the 3. Then T.J. Houshmandzadeh gathers in the dart-throw TD from Palmer past S Kerry Rhodes.

This was a bad drive for the Green & White defense, which yielded 55 rushing yards to Watson and 14 plays and 7:34 in possession time for the TD that puts the Bengals within a touchdown and a PAT of sending the Jets reeling further.

Jets 23, Bengals 17

Then four unfavorable plays, three by the offense ending in a 2-yard Pennington scramble and then a 20-yard Ben Graham punt off the side of his foot. The Bengals are set up at their 43.

The play before the end of the quarter, Elam is in position on a run blitz to drop Watson and force a punt. But Elam whiffs as Watson spins away for the first down.

And we're on to the final 15 minutes.