One shoe or two, Brad Smith was too much for the Bengals.
Smith, the Jets’ Mr. Everything, scored on an 89-yard kickoff return during which he lost his left shoe and also had a 53-yard touchdown run in New York’s 26-10 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night.
Hours after New England beat Detroit to improve to 9-2, New York matched the Patriots and the Jets are off to the second-best start in team history— eclipsed only by the 1986 squad that won 10 of its first 11. And the Jets did it by overcoming a sluggish first half and sending the struggling Bengals (2-9) to their eighth straight loss.
The Jets and Patriots meet for the AFC East lead in their next game, a meaty Monday night matchup Dec. 6 at New England.
New York has beaten Cincinnati three times in less than a year, including the regular-season finale that got the Jets into the playoffs, then in the wild-card game the following week.
Santonio Holmes scored his fourth touchdown in three games on a 13-yard reception from Mark Sanchez after Cincinnati’s Andre Caldwell had a punt deflect off him while he was blocking. Sanchez was 16 for 28 for 166 yards with the TD and an interception.
Smith had three carries for 55 yards, a catch for 23 yards and the long kickoff return.
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Hear from the Jets after their 26-10 win over the Bengals
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