Ravens prove to be too much in second half for Jets

BALTIMORE — The Jets are losers again.

They fell to the Baltimore Ravens, 23-10, on Sunday and clinched their 10th straight losing season. It’s the longest current streak in the NFL.

It’s only a matter of time before the Jets (2-9) extend their streak of missing the postseason to 15 years. That’s also the longest active streak in the four major sports.

This was a winnable game, but costly penalties, a questionable fourth-down decision and a fourth-quarter fumble by Breece Hall at the 2-yard line killed the Jets’ chances of getting the victory.

“Tough, tough loss today,” Aaron Glenn said. “I feel bad for the players. I just told them how much I love them, how the effort that they gave was outstanding. And, man, to not get a victory.”

The Jets led 7-3 at the half. They did a good job of keeping Lamar Jackson in check; he didn’t have a touchdown pass and ran for only 11 yards on seven carries overall. That’s what made this loss so tough.

“It’s super-frustrating,” Jeremy Ruckert said. “You take that field every weekend with the belief that you’re going to win the game. We work so hard during the week . . . When you’re right there, you know what you need to do to finish it and come up a little short, it’s tough.”

The two touchdowns the Ravens scored in the second half — both on 2-yard runs by Derrick Henry — were helped by third-down pass-interference penalties on each drive.

The first was a 34-yarder on third-and-15 by Isaiah Oliver. The second was by Tony Adams, who pulled down Zay Flowers by the arm at the 3-yard line on a third-and-7. Henry’s second score made it 17-7 with 3:33 left in the third quarter.

“There were a number of calls that I question,” Glenn said. “The one thing that we’re not going to do is we’re not going to make excuses.”

The Jets had more yards of offense than the Ravens (282-241) as Tyrod Taylor, starting for the benched Justin Fields, was able to move the football. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 222 yards, a touchdown and an interception on the last throw of the game.

Hall led the Jets with 119 scrimmage yards on 20 touches. But he had a costly fumble at the 2-yard line with just under seven minutes remaining and the Jets trailing 20-10.

Hall had a big series on that possession, catching two passes for 55 yards to get the Jets to the 17. On second down, he took a handoff 11 yards but had the ball stripped by Marlon Humphrey at the 2. Baltimore’s Alohi Gillman recovered at the 3.

Hall said he was trying to rip through but got turned around, and that got the ball out.

“It stung,” he said. “You never want to fumble. At the end of the day, though, my mom’s always taught me, there’s going to be ups and downs, but never let them see you sweat. So hold your head high, keep coming back and getting better.”

The Jets’ John Metchie caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Jackson finished 13-for-23 passing for 153 yards. Henry had 64 yards rushing on 21 carries.

After the first touchdown by Henry gave the Ravens (6-5) a 10-7 lead, the Jets went for it on fourth-and-2 from their 42. The pass intended for Metchie on the right side of the field was short, giving the Ravens great field position for their next drive. They made the Jets pay as Henry made it a two-score game.

“Definitely disappointed it didn’t work out,” Taylor said. “It was a concept that we liked. We just didn’t execute it.”

The Jets made it a one-score game on their next series as , driving to the 24,. They drove just outside the red zone to the 24 but couldn’t advance further.Nick Folk’s 42-yard field goal cut it to 17-10 early in the fourth quarter.

After Baltimore drove to the Jets’ 19 on the next series, the defense gave up only two yards on the next three downs, and Tyler Loop’s 35-yard field goal pushed the score to 20-10.

Hall’s fumble on the ensuing series was crushing, but the Ravens did nothing with the change of possession. The Jets got the ball back with 3:11 left at their own 5 and gave it up on downs.

Glenn expressed confidence that things eventually will turn around.

“I believe in these guys, I believe in this team,” he said. “I believe in the effort that they give us. And that’s one thing that’s not going to go away.

“I’m going to sit here and say that we don’t want to be 2-and-9. But I do understand this: There are some things that we’re doing, some underlying things that we’re doing, some foundational things that we’re doing that I am excited about. We just got to make sure now that the record catches up with those things that we’re building.”

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.