NFL: White takes charge, powers Jets to upset of Bengals

LOS ANGELES -- Quarterback Mike White outdueled Joe Burrow in his first NFL start, leading the New York Jets to a thrilling 34-31 NFL upset over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

White made the most of his first start, completing 37-of-45 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns and a trick play for the Jets, who ended a two-game losing skid.

White hit Tyler Kroft with a 13-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

White then caught the two-point conversion pass from Jamison Crowder on a trick play and the Jets led 34-31 with 3:50 left. 

"Anything is possible," said Jets coach Robert Saleh. "The difference between play A and player Z is an opportunity and reps. That's what professional sports is. That why they come out of nowhere.

"Someone gets an opportunity. Mike has the world in front of him. He has to take advantage of it."

Shaq Lawson gave the Jets their first interception of the season after defecting a screen pass and catching the ball with 4:32 to go. 

Cincinnati punted from its own 40-yard line with 2:19 remaining and never got the ball back.

The Jets improved to 2-5 on the season and beat the Bengals for the first time in their past four meetings. 

White said Sunday's performance was just "affirmation" of what he believed all along, that he could play in the NFL.

"I was confident enough to be able to execute and move the offence," said White. "Today was an affirmation for it."

Burrow completed 21-of-34 for 259 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for the Bengals, who fell to 5-3.

Cincinnati running back Joe Mixon scored twice and gained 91 yards on 18 carries. Tee Higgins led all receivers with 97 yards on four catches.

Agence France-Presse

Smooth sailing in virtual NFL draft as LSU talent steals the show

NEW YORK -- The final rounds of the NFL Draft capped a smooth and generally glitch-free affair on Saturday, as the league pivoted to a virtual format for the first time ever due to the coronavirus outbreak, with coaches and prospects staying out of the spotlight and behind closed doors.

The widely heralded first pick Joe Burrow, a quarterback, led a charge of 14 selections out of Louisiana State University, tying Ohio State's 2004 record for the most players in a single draft class, as teams scrambled for a piece of the college championship-winning squad.

As franchises were filling out their rosters in the final rounds of the quarterback-rich draft, questions lingered over when the professional football calendar would return to normal, with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell maintaining that the upcoming season will move forward as scheduled.

Three quarterbacks, including Heisman Trophy-winning first pick Burrow who went to the Cincinnati Bengals, University of Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa and Oregon's Justin Herbert, were among the first six selections for the first time since 1999.

The final day of the draft kicked off with a high-profile trade that saw the Washington Redskins seven-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Williams go to the San Francisco 49ers for a fifth-round pick this year and a third round selection in 2021.

One of the rare few live sports events left on the calendar in the COVID-19 era, the first night of the draft drew a record-breaking average of more than 15.6 million viewers tuning in on Thursday. 

(Reporting By Amy Tennery Editing by Christian Radnedge and Diane Craft)

-reuters-