Jets win 30-28 after Greg Zuerlein’s 54-yard field goal in final seconds

Sunday’s game pitted the Jets‘ No. 32 offense versus the Commanders, who own the worst defense in the NFL.

In a battle against the resistible force versus the movable object, the Jets (6-9) got the win, 30-28, over the Commanders (4-11) after Greg Zuerlein’s 54-yard field goal with five seconds left to give them to win.

The Jets nearly collapsed after leading 20-0 in the second quarter. Then the Commanders scored 28 of the final 35 points to take the lead after Antonio Gibson’s two-yard touchdown that gave them a one-point lead with 4:55 left.

Trevor Siemian got his first start of the season after Zach Wilson was ruled out because he suffered a concussion during the second quarter in last weekend’s loss to the Dolphins. He completed 27-of-49 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

Breece Hall had his finest performance in over two months. He rushed for 95 yards and two touchdown on 20 carries. Sunday was the first time Hall ran for over 100 yards since the Jets’ victory against the Broncos on Oct. 8, in which he finished with 177 yards and one touchdown.

Garrett Wilson also had a standout day after finishing with nine receptions for 76 yards.

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell struggled against a Jets defense ranked seventh in the league in yards and 11th in points allowed. He finished 6-of-22 for 56 yards and two interceptions. That resulted in a passer rating of 1.7. He was benched with 6:43 left in the third quarter, down 27-7, in favor of Jacoby Brissett, who instantly led the Commanders to a touchdown on a pass to tight end Logan Thomas.

Howell was also pulled in last Sunday’s 28-20 loss to the Rams after finishing 11-of-26 for 102 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He is 4-10 as the Commanders’ starter this season after entering Week 16 throwing for 3,568 yards, 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Brissett completed 10-of-13 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown in relief of Howell. Running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. was significant for the Commanders in place of the injured Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring). He rushed for only 58 yards but registered two touchdowns. The second score put Washington down six with 9:33 left in the fourth quarter.

The Jets entered Sunday’s game with just one first-quarter touchdown in 14 games. They also scored 13 offensive touchdowns through 14 games. On Sunday, Gang Green manage to score two touchdowns in the first quarter.

Following a Jermaine Johnson punt block, which was downed on the Commanders’ nine, Siemian found Jason Brownlee for a nine-yard touchdown, which was the first of his career. Then with 9:44 in the first quarter, Hall scored on a 36-yard touchdown run that increased the Jets’ lead to 17-0.

Gang Green answered Rodriguez’s 12-yard touchdown with Hall’s second touchdown in the first half, which came with 1:42 left in the second quarter.

The Jets only registered 103 yards in the 30-0 loss to the Dolphins in Week 15. However, they finished with 381 yards and 4.5 yards per play against a Commanders’ defense that gave up an average of 384.5 yards per game through 14 games.

After being eliminated from postseason contention last weekend, Jets coach Robert Saleh recently came under fire because of the team’s performance. The team lost six of their last seven games coming into Sunday’s matchup.

The 27 points in the first half was the most the Jets accumulated this season. The Jets entered the game last in yards (255.1) and 30th in points per game (14.4).

They also were 32nd in the league in NFL red zone efficiency (34.48%) and third down conversion rate (25.5%). The Jets were 4-for-16 (26%) on third downs and 2-for-5 (40%) on their red zone attempts on Sunday

Gang Green’s defense held Washington to 245 total yards, which was an improvement from last week when it allowed 290 yards and three touchdowns.

The Jets extended their streak of not allowing a 300-yard passer to 33 games.

The Jets will travel to Cleveland on a short week to play the Browns on Thursday Night Football. The Commanders will return home to play the 49ers.