JET NOTES
CLEVELAND – The Jets lost starting cornerback Andre Dyson to a right foot or ankle injury late in the first half yesterday.
Though it didn’t appear to be a serious injury, it did force Justin Miller into the starting lineup to replace him, and Miller struggled. The biggest play he gave up was a 30-yard Charlie Frye scoring pass to Kellen Winslow to start the second half.
Earlier, Miller was called for a pass-interference penalty in the end zone. Miller, though, redeemed himself with a 99-yard KO return for a TD in the third quarter.
It was Miller’s second TD return of the season and third of his career.
The last time the Jets had a player return two KOs for TDs in one year was Chad Morton in 2002, on opening day in Buffalo. The only other time a Jets player has done it twice in a season was Leon Burton in 1960 for the Titans.
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Kicker Mike Nugent had an interesting game. Right after giving the Jets a 3-0 lead with a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter, his kickoff went out of bounds at the Cleveland 23, giving the ball to the Browns at their own 40 and infuriating Jets’ special teams coach Mike Westhoff.
Later, Nugent missed short and wide right on a 52-yard FG attempt on the other side of the stadium, but he kicked a key 47-yard FG to cut the Browns’ lead to 20-13 in the fourth quarter.
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LB/DE Bryan Thomas had a sack in the third quarter. That was followed by a sack by rookie CB Drew Coleman, the first of his career. … Jet rookie Brad Smith made a terrific downing of a Ben Graham punt at the Cleveland 2-yard line.
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With the bye now upon the Jets, they’re expected to evaluate whether Curtis Martin can begin practicing now that he’s off the PUP list. Whatever decision is made will certainly shape whether Martin’s NFL career continues.