Early in the second quarter, McDonald used his patented spin move to beat Panthers RT Ricky Lee and bring down Plummer on third down, resulting in a sack. The Iowa State product also had one of the Jets’ 6 tackles for loss as they held the Panthers to 156 yards and 3 of 11 on third down.

Backup QB Tyrod Taylor started but served as the third emergency quarterback because 31 Jets starters were unavailable. Andrew Peasley, a rookie signal-caller from Wyoming, began the game at quarterback.

Peasley got the ball early to the Jets’ rookie RB duo of Braelon Allen, a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, and Isaiah Davis, a fifth-round pick out of South Dakota State. Allen touched the ball 10 times in the first half, with 8 carries for 29 yards and 2 pass catches for 12 yards, while Davis added 14 yards on 4 carries.

“All the backs had a really good run, but there was a third-and-6 where Allen had a fierce run where he moved the pile,” Saleh said. “We picked him for a lot of reasons because he’s actually really good as a route runner and also in pass protection and I think he’s an all-around really good back.”

Peasley’s final drive of the night began just before the end of the half. H, he led a 17-play, 49-yard drive in 8:44 that ended with a 36-yard field goal by K Greg Zuerlein to tie the game at 3-3. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 33 yards, including a 6-yard pass to rookie WR Malachi Corley on fourth-and-1 to extend their only scoring drive of the first half.