Offenses Take Day Off, Jets Beat Redskins, 3-0

The New York Jets have now failed to score a touchdown in 14 quarters, but on Saturday they faced an offense even more inept than theirs.

The result was a 3-0 victory over the Washington Redskins, who never got inside the Jets’ 30-yard line.

The only score of the game was Cary Blanchard’s 45-yard field goal late in the first quarter on the Jets’ first possession.

“A real offensive outburst, right?” Jet Coach Bruce Coslet said. “We had our troubles in the red zone like everyone else in the whole league has. The way our defense has been playing the last two months, we just wanted to be conservative and rely on them.”

Johnny Johnson, returning to the Jets’ lineup after being hampered the past three weeks by bruised ribs, rushed for 155 yards after Coslet decided to limit Boomer Esiason’s throwing because of chilly, gusting winds.

“I took a couple of shots and they were a little sore,” Johnson said of his ribs, which kept him out of last week’s 9-6 loss to Indianapolis. “But they feel all right now.”

The victory kept the Jets (8-5) in the race for a wild-card playoff berth. The Redskins fell to 3-10 in their worst season in three decades.

Redskin rookie running back Reggie Brooks went into the game with 873 yards and an average of 4.9 per carry, but Saturday he got only 28 yards in nine carries. The Redskins had only 150 yards of total offense.

One thing the Jets’ offense did was keep the ball away from the Redskins. The Jets had it 41 minutes, the Redskins only 19.

Redskin Coach Richie Petitbon, his eyes red and looking worn after the game, said: “We just didn’t make any plays. It was another game where we had a lot of opportunities to win. . . . It’s not one of the better years I’ve been associated with.”