For much of Sunday afternoon, it seemed like Geno Smith might have an unexpectedly solid return to MetLife Stadium as the Jets quarterback.
But then the Jets turned back into the Jets — and Smith turned back into Smith.
The combination turned what had looked like an impressive second straight win into a demoralizing 20-17 loss in overtime to the Packers.
And Smith contributed to the defeat.
While he finished the game 27-for-41, 247 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers, Smith made mistakes that the Jets were unable to overcome.
Following a disjointed end to the fourth quarter, the Jets opened overtime with the ball and a pair of disastrous sacks that pushed them from their own 30 back to the 15.
They never recovered, punted after a three-and-out and saw Green Bay kick the game-winning field goal on the ensuing drive.
Of that decisive drive in OT, head coach Aaron Glenn said, “Listen, I trust Geno. I think Geno was doing a solid job. Probably not his best.”
After an efficient performance in the win in Tennessee, Smith certainly didn’t have a lot of help from a running game that was almost completely shut down and a team that committed too many penalties on both sides of the ball.
Still, as Smith noted, they were up by 10 points with 11:04 to go in regulation.
“We had the lead in the fourth quarter,’’ Smith said. “We’ve just got to close the game better. We had opportunities to close out the game and didn’t capitalize on those.”
Asked about the positives he and the Jets could take away from the game, Smith said, “I don’t really believe in moral victories. We didn’t win the game, and that’s all that matters to me.”
The Jets appeared poised to deliver a different outcome — and Smith was playing a part in it.
A fanbase already inspired by a Week 1 road win over the Titans — who nearly toppled the Eagles on Sunday — sounded its support of the often beleaguered Smith, chanting “Let’s Go, Geno” on numerous occasions.
“It felt good and all that,’’ Smith said of his return to the place he called home with the Jets from 2013-16 and 2017 as a Giant. “The more important thing for me was to try to get the win today for the fans and for our team, and we didn’t get it done.’’
He threw some questionable passes on the first two drives but got the Jets back into the game in the second quarter, leading a seven-play, 70-yard drive that ended in a touchdown.
He picked up a first down on a third-down scramble on a 10-play drive that ended in another touchdown to help put the Jets up by seven late in the third.
Following a disastrous drive to start the fourth quarter, the Jets got the ball back at the Green Bay 18 but had to settle for a field goal as the offense disappeared.
And when they could only pick up one first down after Green Bay got to within a field goal, Smith didn’t respond with any big plays.
“I think he always does his thing,’’ Breece Hall said of Smith. “The [running] backs and [offensive] line, I think we could’ve definitely done a little better for him in protection. I think he did as well as he could have with what he was given.”
And that was good enough for a demoralizing defeat.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
