PRO FOOTBALL : Jets Show Bengals Another Way to Lose

Barry Bennett of the New York Jets blocked a 46-yard field-goal attempt and teammate Rich Miano scooped up the ball and ran 67 yards for a touchdown to give the Jets a dramatic 27-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday.

“I heard the block and the ball popped up right into my hands,” Miano, a backup safety, said.

The Jets (6-5) are tied with Buffalo and Indianapolis atop the AFC East. The Bengals (3-8) have lost six games in the final minutes this season.

“We just seem to find a way to lose,” Bengal quarterback Boomer Esiason said. “I thought we played well enough to win. It’s very frustrating. We could be 9-2. This is a very difficult time for us.”

The Bengals appeared to get a break when Breech, after missing the 46-yard attempt, got another chance because the two-minute warning was called before the snap. But on Breech’s second try, Bennett shot through a gap created by Joe Klecko and blocked the kick.

“The field goal called back looked like a break and it wasn’t,” Esiason said. “It’s a microcosm of our season.”

Ken O’Brien had a pass intercepted by Barney Bussey to give Cincinnati position for the field goal attempt.

New York’s offense consisted mainly of O’Brien passes to Freeman McNeil, who had 7 receptions for 79 yards, both career highs. He scored on a 24-yard pass play on the game’s opening drive.

The Jets took a 17-7 lead when Johnny Hector scored from the one-yard line one play after O’Brien passed to Al Toon for a 50-yard gain.

But the Bengals came back to take a 20-17 before a 23-yard field goal by the Jets’ Pat Leahy made it 20-20 with 6:23 left to play. Leahy’s field goal, his 34th straight successful kick from the 40 or inside, was set up by safety Harry Hamilton’s interception at the Bengal 27.

Miano’s touchdown was the Jets’ first on a blocked field goal since Jerry Holmes did it against the Rams in 1983. It came in the midst of a driving rainstorm which began just moments earlier.