Jets vs. Browns: Braelon Allen's Late TD and Eight Sacks of Deshaun Watson Snap New York's Skid in Week 5

Demario Davis has 15 NFL seasons on his resume, so when he makes a sweeping statement, people listen. Sunday, he made a big one. "I would go as far as to say this was a historic win for this organization," the Jets linebacker said after a soaked afternoon at MetLife Stadium.

Historic is a lot to hang on a Week 5 game, but the New York Jets beat the Cleveland Browns 17-12 in steady rain, and they earned it the hard way. Braelon Allen's 22-yard run with 3:01 left put New York ahead for good, three plays after the Jets pounced on a botched Browns punt snap. The defense sacked Deshaun Watson eight times, and New York snapped a three-game losing streak while ending Cleveland's three-game winning streak.

Rain, Punts and One Wild Snap

The Jets came out like a team that was done feeling sorry for itself. They forced a three-and-out, then went 80 yards in eight plays, and Garrett Wilson turned a quick throw into a 32-yard touchdown with a spin move that left a Browns defender grabbing rain. "They flushed whatever happened last week and they moved on to this week," coach Aaron Glenn said.

Cleveland's next drive brought the scariest moment of the day. Rookie first-round pick KC Concepcion took a crushing hit from Minkah Fitzpatrick on a deep ball at the Jets 25, drawing an unnecessary roughness flag, and was ruled out. Browns coach Todd Monken said afterward that he saw Concepcion and that he "was in good spirits." Andre Szmyt finished that march with a 25-yard field goal and added a 41-yarder early in the second quarter, making it 7-6.

From there, it became a punting exhibition filmed through a car wash. New York's best chance to add on died with just under six minutes left in the third quarter, when Quincy Williams, facing his former team, punched the ball away from rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq at the Cleveland 5 and Ronnie Hickman recovered. Glenn said Sadiq is in the concussion protocol.

Jason Sanders finally broke through with a 54-yard field goal 23 seconds into the fourth quarter, and the Jets got lucky to even attempt it: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren had intercepted Geno Smith at the Cleveland 4 two snaps earlier, but an offside penalty on the Browns wiped it out. 10-6.

Cleveland finally found the end zone on a 9-play, 86-yard drive. Watson scrambled for 20 yards, then on third-and-10 lofted a 29-yard touchdown to rookie Denzel Boston. Szmyt's extra point hit the right upright, leaving it 12-10 Browns with 6:15 left. Four snaps later, Carson Schwesinger knocked the ball loose from Smith on a sack, and Adin Huntington fell on it at the New York 48.

It felt like the Jets' season was sliding off the table. It wasn't. The defense forced a three-and-out, the Browns botched the ensuing punt, and Trevin Wallace recovered at the Cleveland 23. Three plays later, Allen slipped through an opening on the left side for 22 yards and the lead, and the poncho brigade in the stands went bananas. The Browns' final possession started at their own 20 with 1:41 to play and no timeouts, and it ended with Will McDonald IV ripping the ball from Watson on a fourth-down sack and landing on it.

Wilson, Allen and a Rookie Pass Rusher

Allen carried 24 times for 116 yards, his first 100-yard rushing game according to the Jets' website. Wilson caught seven passes for 104 yards and the opening touchdown. Per newyorkjets.com, the pair accounted for 220 of the Jets' 276 scrimmage yards, or 79.7%, the largest share in franchise history for two skill-position players who each had 100 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in the same game. Two guys carried an entire offense through a downpour. That's a buddy movie.

Smith went 17 of 30 for 182 yards and the touchdown and was sacked four times. "The conditions, you can't control that," he said.

The defense was the real headliner. Rookie David Bailey had three of the eight sacks, plus four quarterback hits and three tackles for loss. Dane Belton (eight tackles), Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Darrell Jackson Jr. each got home once, and McDonald delivered the final blow. New York held Cleveland to 198 total yards and 3.0 yards per play.

For the Browns, Isaiah Bond caught three passes for 74 yards, Boston scored, and Quincy Williams made 11 tackles and the forced fumble against his old team. Watson finished 15 of 33 for 155 yards and spent much of the afternoon on his back.

The Snap Heard Round North Jersey

Rewind to fourth-and-10 from the New York 43, Browns up two, needing nothing more than a decent punt. Rex Sunahara's snap came in high, slipped through punter Corey Bojorquez's hands and squirted backward into something closer to a rugby scrum than a football play. Wallace came out of it with the ball. Cleveland went from trying to pin the Jets deep to defending a short field on one chaotic snap.

Monken didn't hide behind the weather, but he didn't ignore it either. "The ball was wet the whole game," he said. "But we both had to play in it."

Soggy Numbers

• 8: Sacks of Watson, for 53 yards.
• 0 for 3: Combined red-zone trips that ended in touchdowns. All three touchdowns came from 22 yards or farther out.
• 4 of 16: Browns on third down.
• 10 for 102: Jets penalties and penalty yards. They won anyway.

Breathing Room for Glenn, a Reality Check for Cleveland

The Jets are 2-3, and the win ends a three-game slide that included losses to Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago. Glenn called it "A good team win" and added, "Every part had some bright moments." That's fair. The defense and special teams created the chance, and the offense finally cashed one.

The bill comes due fast. Next up is a trip to New England, where Drake Maye and the Patriots just hung 45 on the Raiders. Davis can call this one historic. Beating Maye in Foxborough would be a sequel worth watching.

Cleveland is 3-2, and the offense has problems it can't pin on the rain: eight sacks, 3.0 yards per play and zero red-zone touchdowns. The Browns host Baltimore next.

Historic, With an Asterisk

Davis' "historic" line will get screenshotted and roasted somewhere, but he explained what he meant. "It can weigh on you emotionally, it can weigh on your faith, it can weigh on your belief," he said of a losing streak. "And it can weigh on an organization that has historically been disappointed." Sometimes a rain-soaked, ugly 17-12 win is the cleanse. Or, as Wilson put it: "That's the feeling we're hunting every weekend."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and newyorkjets.com.