CINCINNATI — The Jets beat the Bengals 39-38 on Sunday to pick up their first victory of the season. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. It was a very odd day with the range of emotions that members of the Jets and their fans felt. I saw someone who works for the Jets when I walked into the stadium and they had tears in their eyes. They told me about Nick Mangold’s death and I could only feel shock at first and that later became sadness.
By now, you’ve read many tributes to Mangold. Everything they say about him is true. He was one of the best guys to come through the Jets locker room. He was everything you would want in a teammate or a player if you were a coach — smart, reliable and tough.
For me, I did not realize just how valuable Mangold was to the Jets until the first game he missed. Mangold played every game for five years and then in 2011 he suffered a high ankle sprain. The Jets had a game in Baltimore against the Ravens, who still had Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and that great defense.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
