By Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Santonio Holmes caught a short slant, broke a tackle and scampered 37 yards with 16 seconds left in overtime to give the Jets a thrilling 26-20 win against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Holmes gave the Jets their second straight overtime win and earned head coach Rex Ryan a win against his twin brother and Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.
"At 1 o’clock, everybody becomes nameless, faceless objects—whether it is your twin brother or a friend," Rex Ryan told the Associated Press. "I feel bad for Cleveland. They played their hearts out. I don’t want to do this game over."
Quarterback Mark Sanchez threw for 299 yards and two touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown in the tightly contested game.
"This is an easy game to get caught up in that roller-coaster, to try and force something," Sanchez told the Daily News. "This was an easy game to lose, an easy game to lose. One mistake could have lost it for us. But we were resilient another week and we'll take the win."
Momentum changed hands several times late in the game. Jets kicker Nick Folk, who missed three field goals in the game, kicked a 25-yard field goal with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter to put New York up 20-13.
The Jets could have closed out the game with a defensive stop, but instead rookie quarterback Colt McCoy drove the Browns up the field and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mohamed Massaquoi with 44 seconds left in the game.
The overtime win came one week after New York beat the Detroit Lions 23-20 in overtime on the road. The Jets (7-2) have won seven of their last eight games to earn them a tie for first playce with the New England Patriots (7-2) in the AFC East.
The Jets return home next week to play the Houston Texans (4-5) at the New Meadowlands on Sunday.
