When it rains, it pours. However, the Jets overcame horrendous conditions at MetLife Stadium to scratch out a win they desperately needed over the Cleveland Browns to improve to 2-3 on the season.

The Jets led for most of Sunday’s game, but self-inflicted wounds in the pouring rain enabled the Browns to hang around and take the lead in the fourth quarter. However, a fortuitous turnover set up Braelon Allen’s game-winning touchdown run and New York clung on to the 17-12 win.

The Jets got off to a terrific start as they forced a three-and-out on Cleveland’s opening possession and then drove downfield to take a 7-0 lead on Geno Smith’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson. That would be their only points in the first three quarters as penalties, sacks, drops and fumbles all transpiring to disrupt promising drives.

However, they played well enough defensively to still hold a 7-6 advantage into the fourth quarter, with the Browns only managing to score on two Andre Szmyt field goals. New York was able to extend its lead to 10-6 early in the fourth quarter on a clutch 54-yard field goal by Jason Sanders.

With 6:15 remaining, Deshaun Watson went deep to Denzel Boston for a 28-yard go-ahead touchdown with Boston beating Brandon Stephens on third-and-10. After a missed extra point, the Jets trailed 12-10.

Smith’s lost fumble near midfield with four minutes to go looked to have ended the Jets’ hopes, but the defense forced a three-and-out and then New York got a huge break when the fourth down snap went over the punter’s head, giving it the ball inside the 30-yard line.

Allen, who had the first 100-yard game of his career, gave the Jets back the lead on a 22-yard touchdown run with 3:01 remaining. Will McDonald’s strip sack, the Jets’ eighth of the game, secured the Jets’ win with less than a minute left.

Here are the key takeaways…

- After his recent lack of production had come under heavy scrutiny during the week, David Bailey answered the criticism with three sacks and now has five on the season. Bailey’s first two sacks were a matter of being in the right place at the right time as one came after a fumbled snap and the other saw him unblocked off the edge. However, his third was the best example so far this season of him cleanly beating an offensive tackle around the edge to get to the quarterback. He also racked up some important pressures down the stretch, led the Jets with eight tackles and was credited with a forced fumble.

- The Jets have statistically improbable bad luck in terms of recovering fumbles in the Aaron Glenn era, but they were fortunate to recover fumbles by Isaiah Davis and Allen, and both seemed destined to be scooped up by a Browns defender. They were not so lucky on rookie Kenyon Sadiq’s red-zone fumble, though, which was compounded by Sadiq being lost for the rest of the game after suffering a head injury on the hit.

- The Jets once again had a high number of penalties (10 for 102 yards), including two personal fouls on one drive against Minkah Fitzpatrick that helped set up the Browns’ first field goal. By contrast, the Browns -- who entered this week as the league’s most penalized team -- didn’t have a single penalty until there were less than three minutes remaining in the first half. Glenn and the Jets were extremely frustrated by this, especially in light of a few glaring no-calls.

Game MVP: Browns LB Quincy Williams

The former Jet spoke of his determination to play well against his former team during the week and backed up the talk with an impressive performance that included three forced fumbles. Williams ended up with a game-high 10 tackles, with a tackle for loss and a key third-down pass deflection as he was the standout performer on either team even in a losing effort.

Here are the key takeaways…

Game MVP: Browns LB Quincy Williams

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