The Packers made a habit of giving up big leads over the course of a six-game losing streak, but they were on the other side of things against the Jets this Sunday.
Jordan Love threw a touchdown to Christian Watson in the fourth quarter and came up with a couple of key completions in overtime to put the Packers in position for a 26-yard Trey Smack field goal. The rookie kicked it through and the Packers left MetLife Stadium with a 20-17 win.
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The Packers spotted the Jets a 17-7 lead, but scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game and send it to overtime. Two sacks helped the defense force a quick Jets punt and the Packers got the ball back on their own 34-yard-line. Kaleb Johnson picked up a first down with a long run and a pass to running back Chris Brooks went for 15 yards. A late hit on Brooks out of bounds handed the Packers 15 more yards and things were academic after another good gain on a pass to Matthew Golden.
Love finished the day 16-of-29 for 145 yards, but finishing with a win was much more important for the Packers given the way last season ended and this one began. They lost wide receiver Jayden Reed, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, and left guard Aaron Banks to injuries during the game, lost a fumble and committed 14 penalties for 133 yards, but they avoided the fatal mistakes that had swamped them in previous outings.
The Jets have a long history of mystifying defeats as well and they did plenty to contribute to this one. They wound up with more penalty yards than the Packers and head coach Aaron Glenn made a baffling decision at the end of regulation. The Packers faced a fourth-and-5 near midfield after a completion to Christian Watson, but Glenn did not call timeout and the Packers took a delay of game penalty with 21 seconds left. A 10-second runoff was applied and the Packers wound up taking a timeout with two seconds left to try a Hail Mary and keep the ball out of the Jets’ hands.
Glenn will also be asked about the decision to run out of the shotgun with Braelon Allen on a fourth-and-1 from the 50 after the two-minute warning because blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter would never have happened without that run of mistakes.
The Jets will head to Detroit next week while the Packers will be hosting the Falcons on Thursday night.