10/21 — The Jets, as the Bengals did before them, slow to a crawl in the red zone, but they tack on a 24-yard field goal by Mike Nugent to open their lead back to seven 3:20 into the second period.

Jets 10, Bengals 3

The drive, featuring a 12-yard Thomas Jones gallop, lasts 9:09. That's the longest Jets drive since they put together their 9:12 TD drive in Game 9 last year at New England, and those two drives are the only nine-minute-plus drives by the Green & White since 2003.

The Bengals don't get far with their third drive as Hank Poteat, who had no interceptions in his first six NFL seasons, comes up with his second in three quarters. He pries the ball out of T.J. Houshmandzadeh's hands as the Cinci WR is tumbling down and snares the loose ball. At first it appears he's taken the ball all the way for a TD return, but referee Tony Corrente's crew marked Poteat down by contact at the Bengals 25.

The Jets don't get far, with Chad Pennington's play-action fade to Laveranues Coles at the goal line is broken up by Bengals rookie CB Leon Hall. So Mike Nugent comes on for his second field goal, this one from 35 yards.

Jets 13, Bengals 3

It marks only the second time since '04 that the Jets scored on their first three drives of a game. The only other time was at Green Bay last year when the Jets scored 31 points on their first five drives.

The Bengals roar back. Well, at first, they were coughing as if they had a fur ball. They get called for having 12 men in the huddle. Then on the next play, Kenny Watson, filling in for injured TB Rudi Johnson, bursts for 15 yards — but loses the run because Houshmandzadeh, not having a good day, was nailed for holding on the perimeter.

But then Cincinnati starts stringing plays. Palmer hits "Ocho Cinco" for "tres dos" yards to midfield. Then it's Watson for 11, then he's stopped twice at or behind the line by the Jonathan Vilma-led surge, but Palmer hits "Housh" for 19 yards on third-and-11.

On second-and-goal at the 3, the Jets dodge a major bullet when Poteat is flagged for grabbing Houshmandzadeh but the penalty, which would have been the Jets' first in six quarters, is offset by Cincinnati FB Jeremi Johnson, also No. 31, getting caught with a chop block. Still second-and-goal at the 3.

And then it's a three-point game again with Kenny Watson getting inside Kerry Rhodes for a 3-yard TD run vs. the Jets' nickel front. Shayne Graham adds the extra point just ahead of a hard-charging Drew Coleman.

Jets 13, Bengals 10

After Graham's KO goes over Leon Washington's head, hits 8 yards deep in the end zone and skips over the end line, the Jets have 2:08 to drive 80 yards for an answering TD. Pennington's first play is a slant to Brad Smith for 12 yards that takes us to the 2:00 mark.

The Jets have only one timeout left, but they don't need it when Leon Washington takes an inside handoff 8 yards to the 40 behind a nifty pancake block by pulling LG Adrien Clarke. Then three plays later it's Washington for 15 yards on the swing pass from Pennington.

It seems the visitors have bogged down at the Cinci 41 on third-and-9, except that S Madieu Williams is called for delay of game for not allowing Washington to get up after a run. So it's third-and-4 at the 36.

And then suddenly it's the Jets by 10 again as Pennington hits Coles for one of those short passes that irritate a lot of people — except this time Coles skips past Johnathan Joseph and Deltha O'Neal, the two corners victimized by Coles on his 57-yard TD catch, and goes unscathed for 36 yards and his second TD of the game.

It's the fifth two-TD game of Coles' career and his first in more than a year, since Game 6 vs. Miami last season.

Jets 20, Bengals 10

And then quite a bizarre finish to the half. The Bengals move to the Jets 42 with eight seconds left, then Palmer spikes the ball. But wait. Corrente said the replay official has called for a review of whether Glenn Holt's diving catch was legal.

It was, so Corrente wants the clock reset to eight seconds with the Bengals starting on his signal. Palmer spikes again, but Corrente didn't give the signal to resume. Then finally the Bengals get a play off, and it's not a spike. But Palmer can't find anyone downfield, the Jets are pressuring, so Palmer throws the ball, he thinks, toward a receiver incomplete.

But Corrente throws two flags in rapid succession, one for a Cinci hold in the backfield and another on Palmer for intentionally grounding the ball. And with a mandatory 10-second runoff for that penalty, Corrente announces, to coach Marvin Lewis' displeasure, that the half is over.

But as positive as this half was for the Green & White, remember that the Jets led the Giants, 17-7, at the half two weeks ago before losing, 35-24. There's 30 more minutes of football to be played before the Jets can mop their brow and count their second W of the season in the books.