Will somebody tell the Jets that a football game lasts 60 minutes?!!

Chad Pennington came out firing, Laveranues Coles had two pretty touchdown grabs and Gang Green held a 23-10 advantage early in the third quarter, but the defense couldn't make a stop and the offense went into a shell in the second half as the Bengals upended the Jets 38-31.

This game left me boiling over with rage.  And this is after I've come to grips that the season is over.  I suppose the only saving grace is that this loss didn't happen while the Green and White were battling for a playoff spot.  Still, this performance makes me want to set fire to every piece of Jets memorabilia I own.

Atrocious.

REASONS TO GET UP ON MONDAY:

Laveranues Coles.  Coles hauled in a perfect 57-yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington on the Jets first drive of the game to give the Gotham Green a quick 7-0 lead.  How bout that?  The Jets actually took a shot downfield and it turned into six points.  Too bad it took them until Week 7 to try that out.  Coles just had to make the catch on that score, but he worked for his second.  LC took a short pass from Pennington in the dying minute of the second quarter, made a nifty move, broke a tackle and rumbled for a 36-yard touchdown.  Coles finished with 8 catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns. 

Jerricho Cotchery.  Cotchery was a non-factor for the majority of this game, but he did find the end zone for the first time this season.  It came with the clock reading triple zero, but it still counts.  Cotchery was at the right place at the right time as Pennington's desperation heave at the end of the game bounced out of the hands of WR Brad Smith and landed right into Jerricho's mitts.  Just like they drew it up.  Cotchery finished with 6 receptions for 60 yards and a score. 

REASONS TO SLEEP IN ON MONDAY:

Run defense.  No Rudi Johnson?  No problem.  The Jets rush defense will transform your second-string, journeyman running back into a superstar.  Sunday's future Hall of Famer?  Kenny Watson.  The six-year pro from Penn State turned in his best James Brooks impersonation and eviscerated the Jets for 130 yards on the ground and three scores.  Nothing the Jets did worked.  Gang Green inserted rookie LB David Harris and DL Sione Pouha to help plug up the holes in the fourth quarter, but they had little effect.  Cincinnati entered the game with the 29th ranked rushing offense in the league.  They'll gain a few spots after playing the Jets.  The Bengals finished with 177 yards rushing on Sunday.

Passing defense.  The Jets couldn't stop the run, but that doesn't mean they kept the Orange and Black's passing attack in check.  Oh no, this defense does it all.  Rookie Darrelle Revis was flagged for two pass interference penalties which kept Cincinnati drives alive and the Jets allowed the Bengals to convert on 7 of 10 third down conversions.  The Jets also started Abram Elam at safety instead of Erik Coleman.  I'm not sure why, but I'm going to guess that Coleman is still feeling the effects of a concussion suffered in Buffalo.  Where did they pick up Elam?  He was released from the Cowboys before the season opener this season and Gang Green scooped him up.  Elam finished with 8 tackles to lead the Jets, but made two horrible plays.  The first came on a 3rd and 2 where Elam blitzed, had running back DeDe Dorsey lined up and then whiffed on the tackle.  Dorsey got the first and the Bengals went on to score a touchdown.  Later, Elam was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he threw a left jab on Watson on a second down play.  It turned a third down into a Bengal first down.  Mangini pulled Elam after that play.

Killer turnovers.  The Jets offense looked good for two quarters, but quickly crumbled in the second half.  I'm not sure if it was the play-calling, poor execution or if the Jets were just unable to make adjustments.  Let's go with all three.  The Jets had a chance to get back in this game after Cincinnati went up 24-23, but couldn't hang on to the football.  Gang Green was in a shotgun on a 3rd and 8 from the Bengal 49, but Nick Mangold snapped the football prematurely and Pennington fumbled the ball.  The Cats recovered and and eventually turned the gaffe into another touchdown.  The final nail in the coffin was delivered when Pennington's pass on a 3rd and 11 was picked off by Johnathan Joseph and returned for a touchdown.

The Jets now stand at 1-6 and are looking down the barrel of a Top 5 pick in next year's draft.  I know the talk of the town will be centered on the quarterback position, but I'm not sure the Jets could win even if Joe Namath was back at QB.  The defense is offensive and the team lacks that killer instinct. 

It's going to take more than one guy to turn this train wreck around.

And the first thing someone should do is get these guys a clock.