Jets blow 10-point fourth-quarter lead in overtime loss to Packers

The Jets gave away ponchos to their fans, who filled MetLife Stadium on a rainy Sunday. Then they gave away a game.

They fell apart in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Packers, squandering a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 20-17 OT loss to the Green Bay Packers in their home opener.

Trey Smack kicked a 26-yard field goal 4:37 into overtime to spoil the Jets’ hopes of earning their first 2-0 start since 2015.

“I’m highly upset,” Glenn said. “Tough way to lose a game.”

Optimism was high for the Jets after their dominant Week 1 performance against the Titans, but so many of the things that worked well in Tennessee didn’t show up against Green Bay. After Jason Sanders’ 32-yard field goal gave the Jets a 17-7 lead with 11:04 left in the fourth quarter, they allowed 13 unanswered points the rest of the way.

“We had the game right in our hands,” quarterback Geno Smith said, “and we didn’t finish them.”

The Jets couldn’t run the ball. They didn’t protect Smith well enough. There was no diversity to their offense and they didn’t execute when the game was on the line.

The coaches made some decisions that backfired. The Jets showed an overall lack of discipline, racking up 13 penalties for 156 yards, and their defense couldn’t get stops when they were needed. Special teams, usually a solid unit, had a rough day, too.

“This loss is not going to define who we are and what we’re about,” Glenn said. “I will say that. And it’s not OK. And our guys are going to take it like that. It is not OK.”

Late in regulation, the Jets took two cracks at a first down near midfield. On third-and-2, Breece Hall was stopped for a 1-yard gain. On fourth-and-1, Smith was in shotgun and handed off to Braelon Allen, who lined up five yards behind the line of scrimmage. He was stopped for no gain.

“We got stuffed,” Allen said. “Hard yard to get. Not much else. You just got to find a way to get it.”

Glenn’s decision-making on the next drive also opened him up to second-guessing and criticism.

The Jets got a third-down stop at their 45 with about a minute left, but Glenn chose not to call timeout and get the ball back. The clock ran down. The Packers were called for a delay of game, which led to a 10-second runoff, and Green Bay ran a play with two seconds left.

“I didn’t think of using a timeout at all,” Glenn said. “If they would have punted it, they would have put us in a backed-up situation.”

Indeed, there was plenty of blame to go around in this meltdown.

In overtime, the Jets received the ball first and went backward. Smith was sacked on first and second downs. A false start by Isaiah Williams made it third-and-30 from the Jets’ 10, and they punted on fourth down.

The Packers started their series at their 34. On second-and-7 from the 48, Jordan Love completed a 15-yard pass to Jordan Brooks, and another 15 was tacked on after Jarvis Brownlee Jr. threw Brooks down even though he already was out of bounds.

“It can’t happen,” Glenn said.

Two plays later, Smack ended the game.

Smith completed 27 of 41 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown. Adonai Mitchell caught six passes for 63 yards and Garrett Wilson had five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Hall rushed for only 29 yards on 16 carries.

Love was 16-for-29 for 145 yards and two touchdowns. MarShawn Lloyd and Christan Watson caught TD passes.

The Jets could have had a bigger cushion in this game.

In the third quarter, a 43-yard catch-and-run by Hall gave the Jets a first down at the Packers’ 40. After Smith scrambled for seven yards on first down, he pitched it to Allen on the next play. Allen later said he was expecting a handoff, and the ball sailed past him. Smith pounced on it for a 14-yard loss and was sacked on third down.

The defense gave the ball right back to Smith sd Kingsley Enagbare knocked the ball loose from Lloyd. Harrison Phillips recovered it at the Packers’ 18. But instead of getting a touchdown, the Jets had to settle for Sanders’ field goal.

“We had opportunities to close out the game, and we didn’t capitalize on those,” Smith said.

The Packers cut it to 17-14 on their next possession on Love’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Watson. Azareye’h Thomas was called for a 37-yard penalty for defensive pass interference on the drive.

Green Bay tied it on Smack’s 34-yard field goal with 2:59 left after the Jets’ special teams allowed a 63-yard punt return by Skyy Moore.

“I feel like it was our game to win, and we just got to win,” Mitchell said. “We played a good opponent, but it’s just always about us.”

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.