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Browns quarterback Josh McCown (13) fumbled on a hit by the Jets' Demario Davis, left, and Calvin Pryor, right.Credit Ed Mulholland/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It had been almost nine months since the Jets’ last regular-season game at MetLife Stadium, and they celebrated the occasion Sunday by bearing little resemblance to the team that trudged into turmoil that day.

There was the remarkably competent performance at quarterback, a position that has displayed little that was remarkable or competent for some time. There was the defense that accomplished the heretofore alien task of forcing turnovers, not just one but five — yes, five. There was also the victory, by 31-10 over the Cleveland Browns, in which the Jets masked their first-half imperfections with a second-half demolition.

All of the good feelings engendered by a season-opening win were tempered by serious injuries to two players, the cornerback Antonio Cromartie and the rookie outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin. Cromartie hurt his left knee without engaging in contact, and as he was carted off, he had a towel draped over his face. Mauldin was strapped onto a spinal board and taken to the hospital after injuring his head and a knee on a second-half sack of Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel.

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As medical personnel examined Mauldin, the entire stadium fell silent, a stark contrast to the excitement that had pervaded the arena all day. Ryan Fitzpatrick, elevated to the starting quarterback position after Geno Smith’s jaw was broken when he was slugged by a teammate, completed 15 of 24 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. A team that had forced 13 turnovers last season created five on Sunday and converted them into 21 points.

The Todd Bowles era had a wacky beginning, with a marvelous one-handed catch by the Browns’ Brian Hartline from his knees; a 48-yard extra point; and a strip by Brandon Marshall before his first catch as a Jet, and that all happened before halftime. But the Jets outscored the Browns by 17-0 in the second half, generating consistent pressure against Manziel, who entered for an injured Josh McCown on the second offensive series.

Fitzpatrick had started a season opener at MetLife Stadium once before — in 2012, when the Jets pummeled Buffalo (and him) and forced three interceptions. Playing for his third team since then, Fitzpatrick has matured. He broke his leg. He understands his strengths. He acknowledges his limitations. “He’s in a good place,” Bowles said this week.

A comfortable place, too, as reflected by his rapport with Marshall and Eric Decker, who combined for 8 receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

As much as the Jets might have spent the last eight months distancing themselves from the Rex Ryan era, importing a new regime and adding elite talent at receiver (Marshall) and cornerback (Darrelle Revis), one thing still lingers: a vocal confidence in their defense.

Players boasted last week that the defense could be “as good as we want” (Muhammad Wilkerson) and “should get us in the playoffs” (Buster Skrine). But with Cleveland pinned at its 9 for its first series, the Jets’ defense allowed four third-down conversions, 90 yards and almost 10 minutes of possession. The drive ended with McCown scrambling up the middle and helicoptering into the end zone, but without the ball, which was dislodged at the goal line by Calvin Pryor and recovered by Cromartie.

The hit prevented one touchdown, but it produced another. On Cleveland’s next series, Manziel replaced McCown, who had been ruled out with a concussion, and on 3rd-and-20 lofted a 54-yard touchdown down the left sideline to Travis Benjamin, who beat Cromartie and raced untouched into the end zone to put the Browns ahead, 7-0.

The Jets responded 80 seconds later, benefiting from Marshall’s hands — his right one, in particular. After Tashaun Gipson intercepted Fitzpatrick deep in Browns territory, Marshall, the intended receiver, stripped the ball to give the Jets possession at their 9. Two plays later, Chris Ivory rumbled into the end zone for the tying touchdown.

And so began a pattern: Every time Cleveland scored, the Jets did, too. After going ahead by 10-7, Fitzpatrick engineered a methodical nine-play drive, leading the Jets 72 yards, the final 15 on a gorgeous touchdown pass over the middle to Decker to give them their first lead of the day.

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