NFL: Jets defeat Saints 26-20 | The Salt Lake Tribune

Oh brother • Rex's defense stops New Orleans in second half.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

East Rutherford, N.J. • Rex Ryan found plenty of things to brag about after his New York Jets upset the Saints 26-20 on Sunday. His impressive string of wins over his twin wasn't the main one.

Oh, Rex mentioned beating brother Rob, the New Orleans defensive coordinator, for the seventh time in 10 matchups. How could he not, given the competitive nature of the twins, something they got from their father, Buddy, who went 55-55-1 as an NFL head coach? The 79-year-old Buddy was at the game.

But there were so many other aspects of yet another victory in an odd-numbered game that thrilled the Jets boss.

"All right, I beat my brother again. Just kidding," Rex said with a laugh. "Yeah, there's a little extra, but at the end of the day, now you realize that your bro just took a loss, so that's the tough thing. I pull for them every single week except one."

The Jets (5-4) win every other week. They tied the 2005 New England Patriots for the longest such string to begin a season, according to STATS.

"We didn't know how we'd win and all that, but we told our team, 'All I know is we've got a team that believes and fights until the end and we find a way,' " Rex Ryan said. "And that's really what we did."

Nick Folk remained perfect this season by kicking four field goals, the defense held Drew Brees and the high-scoring Saints (6-2) to six points in the second half, and New York had seven plays of at least 19 yards against Rob Ryan's D.

Interceptions by Demario Davis and Antonio Cromartie and a fourth-and-inches stop highlighted New York's solid defensive performance, and former Saints running back Chris Ivory rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown.

"They did a really good job scheming us and figuring out how to get those runs on us, how to get Ivory the ball and get some positive plays on us," said Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who made his 2013 debut after recovering from a knee injury. "They did a very good job and deserved to win this game."