New York Jets have no time to lament loss

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- With a Week Two game taking place just four days after the Week One game, the New York Jets would not have had much time to enjoy a season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals if they had achieved it.

So it wasn't tough for head coach Todd Bowles on Sunday and Monday to convince the Jets to spend little time lamenting what could have been in Sunday's 23-22 loss at MetLife Stadium and to instead begin focusing on Thursday night's AFC East game against the Buffalo Bills and old friend Rex Ryan.

"It's difficult either way," Bowles said Sunday. "You have a game in three days so you have to get ready for it. Had we won, it would have been just as difficult. We lost the game. We have to regroup. We don't want to go 0-2. We have to get back to work (Monday)."

And Bowles was in no mood Monday to relive Sunday, when the Jets scored just 20 points on five trips inside the Bengals' 20-yard line and left four points on the board via a missed PAT by Nick Folk and a blocked 22-yard field goal.

Bowles even did his best Bill Belichick imitation when he declared "We've moved on to Buffalo" in refusing to answer questions about cornerback Darrelle Revis' poor performance against A.J. Green, who racked up 12 catches for 180 yards and one touchdown while mostly lining up against Revis.

"I'm not going to talk about (Sunday)," Bowles said. "Unless you have Buffalo questions, I ain't going to be here for long."

The same might be said of the Jets in the AFC East race if the singular focus fails to translate into a win over the Bills.

--Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick doesn't think his slow start is a result of his inactive offseason.

Fitzpatrick, who missed the entire offseason program during his bizarre contract standoff with upper management, followed up a quiet preseason (16-of-29 passing for 183 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions) with one of his least impressive games the Jets quarterback on Sunday, when he was just 19 of 35 for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the 23-22 loss to the Bengals.

In addition to having a shotgun snap bounce off his leg, Fitzpatrick looked particularly out of sync with wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Fitzpatrick underthrew or overthrew Marshall a handful of times, though Marshall committed a bad drop on an unsuccessful last-second drive that ended with Fitzpatrick throwing the game-sealing interception.

Afterward, though, Fitzpatrick said the struggles of the offense were a credit to the Bengals' defense and not due to his six-month absence from the team.

"It's a credit to them," Fitzpatrick said of the Bengals. "It was just poor execution and I don't think it had anything to do with not being prepared and not being on the same page. We just didn't get it done."

--Despite playing without suspended defensive end Sheldon Richardson, the Jets racked up seven sacks against the Bengals, the most in any game since they racked up eight against the Bills on Sept. 22, 2013. The seven sacks were the most for the Jets in a season opener since 1966, when they collected seven sacks against the Miami Dolphins.

"We know what we have and we came out and proved it today," said Leonard Williams, who had 2.5 sacks. "Hopefully we can just keep on going, especially when Sheldon gets back."

--After eight seasons in the NFL, Matt Forte probably isn't someone who seeks compliments. Which is a good thing, since a loss left Todd Bowles in no mood to gush over Forte's impressive debut with the Jets (155 yards on 27 touches).

"You have to understand (something) about me," Bowles said. "If we lose the game, nobody played well."