Well, it looked so damned good for nearly four quarters for the Jets.
asserted
it → look → Jets
A 2-0 start for the first time since 2015 was not only in the Jets’ sights in their home opener at MetLife Stadium in what was a “whiteout’’ with their fans clad in white, they could taste it.
Then it all went sour in the second half of the fourth quarter as the Jets squandered a 10-point lead in the final 7:58 to lose in crushing fashion, 20-17, in overtime.
uncertain
Jets → clothe → overtime
Take flight with the Jets
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asserted
he → take → field
loss erased the feel-good afternoon of the 17-7 lead the Jets built halfway through the fourth quarter.
asserted
Jets → erase → quarter
It, too, ruined the “whiteout,’’ leaving the Jets wish they had a vat of White-Out to erase the memory of this sickening loss.
asserted
they → ruin → loss
The Packers (1-1) won the game on a 26-yard field goal by their rookie kicker Trey Smack with 5:23 remaining in overtime.
asserted
5:23 → win → overtime
The Packers tied the game at 17-17 on a 34-yard field goal by Smack with 2:59 remaining in the regulation.
asserted
2:59 → tie → regulation
The score was set up by a 63-yard kickoff return by Packers receiver Skyy Moore to give Green Bay the ball at the Jets 16-yard line.
asserted
score → set → line
The Packers had shaved the Jets lead to 17-14 on 3-yard scoring pass from Jordan Love to Christian Watson, who beat Jarvis Brownlee Jr. on a slant in the end zone with 7:58 remaining in the game.
asserted
7:58 → shave → game
The Jets took a 17-7 lead on a 32-yard field goal by Jason Sanders with 11:04 remaining in the game.
asserted
Jets → take → game
That score was courtesy of a forced fumble by Jets newcomer linebacker Kingsley Enegbare, who came to them from Green Bay this offseason.
asserted
who → force → Bay
Enegbare punched the ball loose from Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd with 12:27 remaining in the game, the ball recovered by defensive tackle Harrison Phillips at the Green Bay 18-yard line.
asserted
ball → punch → line
The Enegbare turnover was the fourth forced fumble of the game by the Jets defense, but the first one they recovered.
asserted
they → force → defense
Earlier, the Jets broke up a 7-7 game in the third quarter, taking a 14-7 lead on a 5-yard Geno Smith scoring pass to Garrett Wilson.
asserted
Jets → break → Wilson
Wilson beat Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse at the goal line for the TD, capping a 10-play, 70-yard drive.
asserted
Wilson → beat → drive
Sunday against the Packers was a step up in weight class for the Jets, and it looked that way through the first half.
asserted
it → look → half
The Jets had the Packers on the back foot early in the game, but never took advantage.
asserted
Packers → have → advantage
Green Bay’s day could not have started worse, with Love sacked on the first play of the game on a broken play and then Packers receiver Jayden Reed lost for the game with a scary neck injury on the second play after making a catch and getting hit by Jets linebackers Demario Davis and Enegbare.
uncertain
Reed → start → Davis
Reed was taken off on a stretcher, his body immobilized.
asserted
body → take → stretcher
On the very next play, Packers starting right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele was lost for the game with a knee injury.
asserted
Bewele → start → injury
The Packers, meanwhile, were penalized six times for 75 yards in the first half alone.
asserted
Packers → penalize → half
Yet it was the Packers who scored the first points, taking a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard TD run by Lloyd with 9:35 remaining in the first half.
asserted
who → score → half
That score apparently woke up a Jets offense that had been sleepwalking on its first three possessions with the Jets tying the game at 7-7 on a 6-yard Braelon Allen scoring run just 3:31 later, with 6:04 remaining in the half.
asserted
6:04 → wake → half
That possession was kept alive by a 16-yard Smith completion to Garrett Wilson on third-and-11 and boosted by a 34-yard pass interference penalty on Packers cornerback Keissea Nixon, who all but tackled Jets receiver Adonai Mitchell.
asserted
who → keep → Mitchell
The score was set up by a 14-yard Smith pass to Mitchell on third-and-9 from the Green Bay 20.
asserted
score → set → 20
Overtime was digusting for the Jets, who had the first possession and saw Smith sacked on the first two plays, followed by a penalty.
asserted
Smith → have → penalty
The Packers took possession of the ball and marched down the field on the Jets defense.
asserted
Packers → take → defense
The most egregious moment came after a 15-yard Love completion to running back Chris Brooks when Brownlee threw Brooks to the ground out of bounds.
asserted
Brownlee → come → bounds
That gave the Packers a first down at the Jets 22-yard line, and the rest is added to the Jets’ dark history on their “whiteout’’ day.
asserted
rest → give → whiteout
The 2-0 Jets were trying to go 2-0 for the first time since 2015 and only the 12th time in the 66-year history of the franchise.
asserted
Jets → try → franchise
That’ll have to wait yet another year, like most things for this floundering franchise.
asserted
That → have → franchise
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