Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals fall flat against Mike White's surprising New York Jets

Updated Oct. 31, 2021 6:25 p.m. ET

Cincinnati Bengals fans caught an early horror show on Halloween, as Joe Burrow & Co. fell to the New York Jets 34-31.

Sporting a 31-20 lead with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter, the Bengals imploded late, allowing the hosts to put up 17 fourth-quarter points to Cincinnati's seven.

With the score 31-26 in favor of the Bengals and 4:36 remaining, a late Burrow interception gifted the Jets a short field and a chance to take the lead.

A quick pass to the left from Burrow was batted up in the air by Jets defensive end Shaq Lawson, who came down with the ball on the 14-yard line.

The Jets took the decisive 34-31 lead two plays and 47 seconds later, after successfully executing a two-point conversion.

Quarterback Mike White, making his first career start at the position after being pressed into duty a week ago, put on a showcase for the Jets.

The fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft filled in for injured rookie Zach Wilson and spearheaded New York's second win of the season with more than 400 passing yards.

White completed 82.2% of his 45 pass attempts, finishing the contest with 405 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and a 107.9 passer rating. With his 400-plus passing performance, White joined Cam Newton as the only other quarterback since 1950 to break that threshold in his first start.

His counterpart, Burrow, was dealing until he threw that fateful interception.

He finished his day 21-for-34 for 259 yards, three touchdowns, one pick and a 102.5 passer rating.

Burrow's go-to target this season, rookie Ja'Marr Chase, was held to three catches for 32 yards — the lowest yardage total in his young career — though the breakout star did find the end zone in the second quarter.

The Jets did a good job containing Cincinnati's rush attack, too, as they held Joe Mixon to 33 rushing yards and one touchdown on 14 attempts.

Those 33 rushing yards matched a season low for Mixon, who reached the same mark in Week 5's 25-22 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

For Cincinnati, the loss drops the team to 5-3 and second place in the congested AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens, who are on a bye this week, slid up to first by virtue of having a better winning percentage of 71.4% at 5-2 to start the season.

Behind the Bengals sit the 4-3 Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of three straight games following Sunday's 15-10 triumph over the Cleveland Browns, who are 4-4.

"You don't play well enough in this league, you're going to get beat by anybody," Burrow said in his postgame news conference, lamenting that his team came out "flat" against the Jets.

Coming off of a big, 41-17 win a week ago against the Ravens, the Bengals were 11-point favorites at kickoff against the Jets, per FOX Bet, having won four of their previous five games.

The 32 first downs allowed by Cincinnati on Sunday were eight more than their previous season high (24 against Minnesota in Week 1), and the 511 total yards and 414 passing yards racked up by New York were the most Cincy has given up all season.

In short, White and the Jets seized on the proverbial "trap game" for Cincinnati to earn their second win of the season.

For the Bengals, the good news is they're heading home after three games on the road, and next Sunday presents a golden opportunity to reassert themselves in their division.

They'll host the AFC North-rival Browns in Week 9.