EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets were 11 minutes away from their first 2-0 start since 2015, enjoying a 10-point lead on Sunday, but a series of breakdowns and questionable coaching decisions turned the "White Out" at MetLife Stadium into a fade-to-black outcome.The Jets blew their biggest fourth-quarter lead in six years and fell to the Green Bay Packers in overtime 20-17, with coach Aaron Glenn being scrutinized for his clock management."To to be honest, I'm highly upset," Glenn said. "(It's a) tough way to lose a game. There are a number of things that go through my head that, man, we have to fix. And it's always tough when you feel like you were right there in the thick of it and then you didn't overcome, and you let the other team overcome and win."That's tough, but I will say this: This loss is not going to define who we are and what we're about. I will say that. And it's not OK. And our guys are going to take it like that. It's not OK."The game was almost impossible to lose.The Jets let the Packers become the first team on record (since 1941) to win a game with less than 200 total yards (199), more than 100 penalty yards (133) and a negative turnover margin (-1), according to ESPN Research. Previously, teams were 0-44 in that situation.Late in the game, Glenn made two strategic decisions that backfired.At the end of regulation, Glenn failed to call a timeout that would've given his offense one last shot to march for a potential game-winning field goal. In the end, the Jets wasted the final minute without getting the ball back.Packers wide receiver Christian Watson was tackled at the Jets' 45-yard line with 1:02 remaining, leaving Green Bay with a fourth-and-5. Glenn, who had two timeouts left, didn't stop the clock.The Packers wound up taking an intentional delay-of-game penalty. After a 10-second run off and a timeout by each team, the fourth quarter ended with Jordan Love being sacked on a Hail Mary play that started with two second left.Even Packers coach Matt LaFleur was perplexed by Glenn's decision."Oh yeah, I was (surprised)," LaFleur said. "I was really confused by that, and that's why we called a timeout and tried a Hail Mary."Glenn defended his strategy, saying, "I think they could have punted the ball and put us in a backed-up situation right there. So that was the reason why" they let the time run down.The Jets won the overtime coin toss and decided to take the ball. Most coaches prefer to get the ball last because it provides an informational advantage under the updated overtime rules, allowing them to know exactly what their team needs to win or extend the game.Glenn said he wanted the ball because "you can really control the clock. You can control exactly how they're going to play offense once you go and score." He wanted to score and put pressure on Green Bay to score, except "it didn't happen the way I planned."No, it didn't.The Jets went three-and-out, with two sacks and a false-start penalty. They punted it to the Packers, who needed only four plays (plus an unnecessary roughness call on nickel back Jarvis Brownlee Jr.) to kick the game-winning field goal from 26 yards.Statistically, the overtime decision is a toss-up.Since the NFL changed the overtime rules last season to make both teams possess the ball, the Jets became the fifth team to win the overtime coin toss and choose to receive, per ESPN Research. Those teams are 2-3. Eleven of the 16 teams to win the coin toss have chosen to defer. Those teams are 4-6-1.The Jets might have been lucky to survive regulation, as they were stuffed on a fourth-and-1 from midfield with 1:15 remaining -- a huge gamble by Glenn. In this case, the defense held, bailing him out."In that situation," Glenn said, "I want to go try to win the game."The Jets showed a lack of aggressiveness at the end of the first half, with Glenn's clock management again under scrutiny. They held the ball for the final four minutes, but never threatened to score, failing to make it to midfield as time expired.In the end, it was the most crushing loss of the Glenn era. The last time the Jets lost a game by blowing a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter was 2020 against the New England Patriots."No, I didn't sense any letdown," linebacker Demario Davis said of the coillapse. "We were in a good position late in the game against a really good football team."Of course, the Packers (1-1) had been blowing leads, too, including a 12-point advantage last week against the Minnesota Vikings."This could sting for a while," Jets guard Joe Tippmann said, "but we can't let it sting for a while."
