Jets Blow 18-Point Lead in "Time Out-Gate" Game at Green Bay

PACKERS 31
JETS 24

Here's the bright side Jets fans, nobody expected Gang Green to win this game.

For two quarters the Jets had us all tricked. They were rushing Aaron Rodgers all over the field; forced him into a turnover on the opening play of the game, and cashed it in for six on a Geno Smith scramble. They sacked Rodgers two more times, and cashed that in for six more points, when Smith hit a wide open Eric Decker streaking down the sideline to make it 14-0, Jets.

Before anyone knew it, Gang Green held a 21-3 lead over Green Bay. Talk about stunning.

Then the Jets decided to be the Jets, and the Packers decided to be, well, the Packers. Green Bay hit a couple of field goals, and all of a sudden 21-3 became 21-9 and things didn't look so bleak for the Green Bay.

The Jets helped ... a lot.

Geno Smith threw a pick inside the red zone, and the Packers took full advantage as the first half drew to a close. The dagger coming when Rodgers hit Davante Adams for 24-yards from the Jets 30 to put Green Bay right on the door step at the New York six-yard line. Two plays later Green Bay scored on a six-yard pass from Rodgers to Randall Cobb, and all of a sudden the Packers went from getting their doors blown off to being right in it with the Jets down 21-16.

For the Jets the game went from a pleasant surprise, to another sad and sickening chapter in a long line of dumbfounding chapters in team history with the second half taking the cake.

After Geno Smith proved he couldn't handle the pressure on a couple of Jets drives in the third quarter, Rodgers proceeded to pick apart the leaky Jets secondary. He hit Jordy Nelson for 11 yards to the Green Bay 44. Later, he found Nelson again for 33 yards to the Jets 10-yard line. Finally Rodgers found Cobb one more time open in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown to make it 22-21, Packers.

Here is when the Jets went from playing lousy football to playing dumb football. Green Bay converted the two point conversion, and all of sudden the Jets decided to start throwing punches at the Packers. While several Green Bay players were involved in the skirmish as well, the Jets started it. Sheldon Richard and Muhammad Wilkerson, two of the Jets leaders on the defense were very much involved; in fact Wilkerson got ejected for the incident, and even smiled and gestured to the crowd as he walked off the field.

Yet, even with this moment of infamy, and even with the fact that Jordy Nelson added an 80-yard touchdown catch and run to give Green Bay the lead; nothing could top what the Jets did to themselves in the fourth quarter.

For a franchise known for the Mud Bowl; the Gastaneau hit on the Browns' Bernie Kosar, and most recently in the Rex Ryan era: foot-gate, and the butt-fumble -- this finish joined that exclusive group.

Even though the Jets had blown an 18-point lead, they still had a fighting chance. Geno Smith was playing pretty solid football without his top wide receiving target in Eric Decker, who left with a hamstring.

Smith had New York at the Packers 37-yard line, and for the first time in his 2-year career delivered the most clutch, and, maybe the best throw of his entire Jets career, lofting a bomb into the corner of the end zone, into the hands of Jeremy Kerely for the tying touchdown.

The Jets were alive. It was going to be 31-31. A game once thought over was likely heading for overtime. But wait, the Jets called a time out before the play ever happened.

Who called it? It was not Rex Ryan. Ryan was screaming at the officials that he never called the timeout to negate what was the best play by the Jets in more than three seasons. The guilty party: offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.  Mornhingweg ran down the sideline calling time out before Nick Mangold ever snapped the football to Geno Smith. Even Sheldon Richardson leaned over to the line judge and said that Marty was calling a timeout and to blow the whistle.

Talk about stupid Jets tricks. Marty Mornhinweg, the man best known for imploding the Detroit Lions when he was their head coach a decade ago, imploded the Jets chances on Sunday. Sure you can fault Sheldon Richardson for leaning over to the side judge to make him aware that Mornhinweg was called a T.O., but he's just a player trying to do what his coaches tell him.

The fault rests at Mornhinweg's feet. He most have forgotten he was an assistant coach not an head coach on Sunday afternoon. The fault also rests at Rex Ryan's feet. Ryan should have full autonomy over his assistants, and should be the only one to call a time out. In fact, blame everyone on the Jets sideline, because someone should have known the rules that ONLY the head coach can call a time out.

The fact that Ryan didn't even know who called the time out is comical, since Mornhinweg was running near him. Then again, this is the Jets we are talking about.

Result: another sad loss for the New York Jets.