The Jets lead at halftime, 17-7. Analysis of the second quarter:

• Plaxico Burress gave the sparse, rain-soaked crowd what it wanted -- a SportsCenter moment. With 51 seconds left in the quarter, Burress made a diving, over-the-shoulder grab in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. He looked like an outfielder leaving his feet, stretching out toward the warning track. It was a tremendous athletic move by Burress, who beat a second-string cornerback named Fred Bennett.

• Mark Sanchez's 16-yard scoring pass to Burress culminated a 10-play, 99-yard drive that chewed up four minutes. For the first 25 minutes of the game, the Jets' offense was blah, but Sanchez -- in the driving rain -- found a rhythm in a semi-hurry up. He completed four of six for 94 yards on the drive, including two big throws to Dustin Keller -- 43 yards and a 15-yarder on third-and-6. Until then, the Jets had gone 0-for-6 on third down.

• Presumably, Sanchez's night is over. If so, it was his second straight crisp outing, as he completed 12 of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He missed a couple of receivers, but, remember, the conditions were awful and gripping the ball had to be difficult. He made a great touch throw on the Burress TD, calmly lofting the ball over a blitzing cornerback, Rico Murray.

• RB LaDainian Tomlinson, who started for the injured Shonn Greene (foot), received a surprising amount of work. He was in for all but one play in the half, filling every role -- No. 1 runner and third-down back. Frankly, Tomlinson looked a split-second slower than usual, not hitting the hole with the usual flash. He also was late on a blitz pick-up, resulting in a sack. Tomlinson rushed nine times for only 16 yards, a 1.8 average.

• The Jets' starting defense, after a fantastic first quarter, experienced a couple of hiccups, letting the offensively challenged Bengals march 70 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown. The killer play was a 33-yard screen to RB Brian Leonard. Underneath pass coverage was an issue for them last season, and it could be another Achilles' heel. The linebackers and safeties aren't known for speed in pass coverage.