Jets' stubborn play-calling needs to be better going forward

Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich was given his flowers for his creativity and how the offense looked at Tennessee in Week 1. The Jets faced a far better opponent on Sunday, and Reich’s offense took a step backward.

The Jets lost, 20-17, in overtime to the Green Bay Packers. This was a winnable game and should have been a victory if only the Jets had executed better and maybe hadn't been so stubborn with trying to establish the running game on a day when it produced little.

On the last series of regulation, Reich needed to call better plays when the Jets were near midfield and had a third-and-2.

A handoff to Breece Hall resulted in a 1-yard gain. On fourth-and-1 from midfield, Geno Smith was in shotgun formation, nearly five yards behind the line of scrimmage. Braelon Allen was a little behind Smith and to his right.

Allen is listed at 235 pounds. Reich probably figured that with a head of steam, this big, burly back easily could get that  yard, but the Packers blew up the play and Allen was stuffed for no gain.

“Just fell short today,” Allen said. “Just a tough yard to get. I expect myself to get it each and every time, of course. Gotta figure out a way to get it done.”

When Aaron Glenn was asked about the play calls, he got defensive and responded: “How many yards did we run for last week?” The answer is 152, but the Packers are not the Titans. The Jets finished with 67 yards rushing and averaged only 2.5 yards per carry against Green Bay.

This is where a little creativity needs to be seen. If not, have the 6-2 Smith forge ahead for the  yard. If you’re concerned about Smith getting hurt, then maybe try having him roll out and throw it to one of the tight ends. Jelani Woods is 6-7. Rookie Kenyon Sadiq is a big, thick playmaker.

The Jets' tight ends were a non-factor on Sunday. After all of the talk about the multiple tight-end sets the Jets used last week, including running a play in 05 personnel — zero backs and five tight ends — they got little from that group.

Sadiq had two catches for 17 yards and Jeremy Ruckert had two grabs for five yards. Mason Taylor wasn’t targeted before leaving the game with a thumb injury. Woods wasn’t targeted either.

“I still have a lot of trust in our run game,” Glenn said. “In that situation, I want to go try to win the game. So, man, let's put it in our hands and let's go try to end it. Let's be aggressive and let’s do that. Everybody has their own philosophy on doing that, but I feel like that was the right decision.”

Going for it wasn’t necessarily the issue. It was trying to replicate what happened in Tennessee when it clearly wasn’t working.

Glenn brought up the 19-play drive against the Titans that featured 15 runs. Green Bay is a much better team and a much better defense. You want to try to establish the run and make that the identity of your team. Got it. But you have to be flexible, too.

That isn’t why the Jets lost to the Packers. There were many reasons they let Green Bay erase a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and win in overtime.

“I feel like we could’ve helped the defense out a little more,” Hall said. “Offense, we definitely let the defense down big-time, for sure.”

The offense could have made the cushion bigger on several occasions. For the second week in a row, they left points on the field. It was glaring, and more devastating because they were playing a much better opponent. The Jets' play-calling needed to be better, too.

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.