APPLICATION » Mike Nugents 38-yard field goal for a 20-14 lead

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Down one of their best playmakers for the season, the New York Jets are looking to their youngsters to help fill the void.Wide receiver Eric Decker will have season-ending surgery after being placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.Its tough news, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said.Decker was inactive the past two weeks after initially being injured at Buffalo in Week 2 and the shoulder worsening at Kansas City the following week.Last week, coach Todd Bowles said it was still too early to tell whether Decker would be placed on IR, which would mean he would have to sit out at least eight weeks.Bowles said Wednesday that Decker would be having surgery soon, and an eight-month recovery period is usually involved. That would put the receiver on pace to possibly be back by minicamp next June.Decker, who was initially ruled as week-to-week with the injury, said last Thursday that his mindset was that, I want to get back on the field, yes, but was uncertain as to whether that would be possible this season.He wasnt recovering the way we hoped he would, Bowles said. He wasnt getting any better. It was getting worse. At some point, he had to try to get surgery.Its a huge blow to the Jets, who have not been the dynamic offense they were last season with Fitzpatrick, Decker and fellow receiver Brandon Marshall leading the way.It definitely hurts, Marshall said. Hes one of the great receivers in the league.Decker had nine catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns in three games. He had 80 receptions for 1,027 yards and 12 scores -- including a team-record 10 scoring grabs inside the opponents 20-yard line -- last season as he and Marshall combined for 26 TDs.Decker signed as a free agent with the Jets in 2014 after four seasons in Denver and has been one of the NFLs most-productive receivers in that time with 163 receptions for 2,183 yards.You definitely cant replace him with one guy, Fitzpatrick said. I think especially with him and the red area, on third downs and the stuff that he was tops in the league at, thats the stuff that you really miss, but its going to be a collective effort. Its going to be a couple of different guys having to step in.Deckers absence has had a noticeable effect on the Jets, who have scored a total of seven points in the second half in the past three games since a 37-31 win at Buffalo in Week 2 in which New York put up 17 points after halftime.Quincy Enunwa has served as the de facto No. 2 receiver since Decker was hurt, and leads the Jets with 27 catches. But other than Enunwa and Marshall, who has 24 receptions, New York has mostly inexperienced receivers left on its roster.Seventh-round pick Charone Peake (four catches, 36 yards) and undrafted free agents Robby Anderson (five for 56) and Jalin Marshall (five for 64) are among the Jets remaining receivers -- but Jalin Marshall has missed the past two games with a torn labrum.Hes one of the great receivers in the league, Brandon Marshall said of Decker. But were more than confident that the younger guys we have, theyll make plays. Guys like Robby, theyre studs and hungry, waiting for their opportunities. ... Theyll step in and just be OK.New York also claimed former Tampa Bay receiver Jeremy Butler off waivers on Tuesday, and cut Jeremy Ross. Butler had 31 catches for 363 yards last season for Baltimore, which signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee-Martin in 2014, but cut him this summer after training camp.Dont panic, Brandon Marshall said. Were OK. Its the NFL. Its not about one guy.The Jets signed cornerback Nick Marshall off Jacksonvilles practice squad Wednesday to fill Deckers roster spot. The former Auburn quarterback was used on special teams and in the secondary by the Jaguars.New York has lost three straight games to fall to 1-4 on the season, with a road game at Arizona on Monday night up next.A win would be huge, Fitzpatrick said. Winning kind of cures all, and when you think things arent going well and all that, then all of a sudden one win can kind of ignite a season. So thats what were gunning for.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals missed another chance to get a statement win.A road game on Monday night against a winning team was an opportunity for the Bengals to reach .500 for the season.The Bengals faltered in the fourth quarter, though, and lost to the Giants 21-20 to fall to 3-5-1.Cincinnati dropped to 11-23 on Monday night, including 4-7 under coach Marvin Lewis. The Bengals havent won a road game on Monday night since the 1990 season, also the last season the team won a playoff game.The defeat also continued the Bengals struggles against some of the NFLs top teams in 2016. They also have lost to Dallas, Denver, New England and Pittsburgh.Weve got to find a way to flip the switch and get these games turned into wins rather than a tie in London and a one-point loss here tonight, Dalton said.Weve got to take a good, hard look at what were doing and correct the things that are hurting us.Penalties, an inconsistent offense and an inability to contain Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. combined to doom the Bengals.Dalton was 16 of 29 for 204 yards with a touchdown pass to A.J. Green and an interception.The Bengals finished with only 12 first downs and 264 yards.The defense, which entered ranked 25th in the league, allowed 351 yards, and the Bengals were penalized nine times for 60 yards.With his team trailing 21-20 early in the fourth quarter, Dalton was intercepted by Landon Collins. George Iloka intercepted Manning on the next play, but the Bengals were unable to take advantage as they failed to get a first down. The Bengals were forced to punt on thheir next two drives as the Giants sacked Dalton twice.ddddddddddddhe fourth-quarter struggles overshadowed a strong start to the second half.The Bengals used Alex Ericksons 84-yard second-half kickoff return to set up the go-ahead score. Jeremy Hill had a 9-yard TD run and Cincinnati later added Mike Nugents 38-yard field goal for a 20-14 lead in the third quarter.But the defense couldnt hold the lead as the Giants went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3 and scored on Mannings third TD pass of the game early in the fourth to retake the lead at 21-20.Late in the second quarter, the Bengals missed an opportunity when they only mustered a field goal after Dre Kirkpatricks interception gave them the ball at the 7. They were held to a 25-yard field goal by Nugent for a short-lived 10-7 lead.We have opportunities on offense to put more points on the board and we end up having to kick field goals and that ended up probably being the difference in the football game, Lewis said.Manning then led a drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Beckham for a 14-10 lead at halftime.With no team in control of the AFC North, the Bengals fell further behind in their hope to reach the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. They host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.Were trying to figure out what we need to do to have these outcomes be different, and theres not one explanation for it, Dalton said.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '