Packers Finish Strong, Beat Jets in Overtime

The Green Bay Packers have won a game.

Their six-game losing streak – a skid that stretched 287 days – ended with a 20-17 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. The Packers, who gave up the final 29 points in last week’s loss to Minnesota, scored the final 13 points to win 20-17 in overtime.

Tails failed on the overtime coin flip, so the Jets started with the ball – and quickly went in reverse. On first down, Brandon Cisse’s blitz set up Barryn Sorrell’s sack. On second down, Lukas Van Ness stormed inside of right tackle Armond Membou for a sack.

After the punt, the Packers started at their 34. First, Kaleb Johnson ran for 11. Next, a checkdown to Chris Brooks turned into a gain of 30 – a catch for 15 that included two broken tackles and 19 yards after the catch and an unnecessary-roughness penalty. Then, with Brandon Stephens blitzing off the corner, Love lobbed it over his head to Matthew Golden for a gain of 12.

That set up Trey Smack for a 26-yard field goal to win the game.

Packers Recover From Slow Start

The game could hardly have started worse for the Packers. On the second play, receiver Jayden Reed was carted off the field with a neck injury. On the third play, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele was carted off the field with a knee injury.

In their place, undrafted rookie J. Michael Sturdivant was on the field for critical snaps and Anthony Belton seemed overwhelmed at right tackle.

The Packers overcame the injuries, an outlandish number of penalties and large periods of inept play to do what they hadn’t done for months.

Win a game. And win a game by finishing strong.

After the Packers rallied from a 17-7 deficit to tie the game at 17, the Jets took over at their 30 with 2:54 to play. First, Geno Smith hit Garrett Wilson for 11. After Evan Williams’ superb breakup on a deep pass, Smith hit Wilson for 8, making it third-and-2 at the 49 at the 2-minute warning.

On fourth-and-1, Lukas Van Ness – who had the best game of his career – got inside tight end Mason Taylor and Jonathan Ford got past former Packers center Josh Myers to stuff Braelon Allen at the line of scrimmage. That gave the Packers the ball at midfield with 1:15 remaining.

They did nothing with it, though. Christian Watson dropped a pass over the middle and was crushed by safety Dane Belton. On second down, with Matthew Golden, Skyy Moore and J. Michael Sturdivant the receivers, Love threw an incomplete bomb to Golden. On third down, with Watson, Moore and Sturdivant the receivers, Love managed only a short completion to Watson.

After some clock maneuvering by coach Matt LaFleur, Love had a last-second shot at a Hail Mary, but he was sacked and the game went to overtime.

Packers Survive Big Mistake

A potential disaster struck on the final play of the third quarter. The Jets led 14-7 and faced third-and-12 from their 17. The Jets ran what was essentially a give-up screen to Breece Hall. However, Hall eluded Dani Dennis-Sutton and Xavier McKinney for a catch-and-run gain to Green Bay’s 43 that included 49 yards after the catch.

Green Bay emerged unscathed, though. The Jets botched a routine running play for a loss of 14 and Edgerrin Cooper sacked Geno Smith. So, the Jets punted and Skyy Moore returned the kick to the 27, only for Chris McClellan to be flagged for unnecessary roughness. The team’s 11th penalty meant the drive started at the 14.

This time, disaster really did strike. Jets outside linebacker Kingsley Enagbare was good for one big play every game, usually on running plays, during his final couple years with the Packers. On the first play of the drive, he punched the ball out of MarShawn Lloyd’s hands. The Jets recovered and kicked a chip-shot field goal to lead 17-7 with 11:04 to go.

A 10-point lead seemed like a 100-point lead considering the Packers had 103 yards, eight first downs and zero third-down conversions.

But the Packers answered. Matthew Golden delivered 56 yards by drawing an interference penalty and catching a crossing route. Love ran for a touchdown on the next play, but it was nullified by offsetting penalties – holding on right tackle Anthony Belton and unnecessary roughness when Love was clocked with a helmet-to-helmet hit – before hitting Watson for a touchdown.

The defense gave the Packers a chance. On third-and-7, Xavier McKinney clobbered Isaiah Williams after a short catch to force a punt.

On the return, Moore dodged one Jets player at the catch point and ran through three tackle attempts for a 63-yard return to the 19. The offense failed, though. Chris Brooks was clobbered on a second-down run and Love’s third-down pass was dropped by Watson; he wouldn’t have gained the first down, anyway.

Trey Smack kicked a 34-yard field goal to tie the score at 17 with 2:59 to go.

Slow Start for Packers

The teams were tied 7-7 at halftime.

On the heels of a horrific finish last week at Minnesota, it was a horrific start for the Packers, though for completely different reasons.

On the second offensive snap, Jayden Reed took a shot to the head on a receiver screen. He stayed on the turf for several minutes before being strapped on a board, lifted onto a cart and driven to the locker room.

The cart had to make a quick U-turn. On the next play, premier right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele suffered a knee injury. He stayed on the turf for a few minutes, when trainers put a cast on his right leg. He, too, was driven to the locker room.

Both players were quickly ruled out, with Anthony Belton filling in at right tackle and Skyy Moore getting a lot of Reed’s snaps in the slot.

The Packers, just like last week, spent much of the first half shooting themselves in the foot with penalties on both sides of the ball. They didn’t gain the first first down until Kaleb Johnson broke a tackle and gained 12 yards on the final play of the first quarter.

That drive eventually reached the end zone. Love hit Watson for gains of 20 and 13 yards before flipping a well-executed screen to MarShawn Lloyd for a 6-yard touchdown. A third-year player playing in the third game of his career, it was his first touchdown.

The Jets answered, though, taking advantage of Green Bay’s sputtering pass rush and a 34-yard interference penalty by Keisean Nixon to tie the score.

Skyy Moore returned the ensuing kickoff to near midfield but wasted the great field position when Johnson fumbled on a first-down run and tight end Tucker Kraft fumbled on a second-down catch.

The first-half stats were as ugly as the weather. The Jets held a 116-81 edge in yardage. The Packers were 0-for-4 on third down and were guilty of six penalties for 75 yards. Both teams fumbled twice but recovered both.

“Our defense is really keeping us in the game,” coach Matt LaFleur said at halftime.

Good thing, because the offense was of no help.

The perfect demonstration of the game came midway through the third quarter. The Packers started at their 3 after a good Jets punt and a penalty on Dani Dennis-Sutton. The Packers got out of trouble when Matthew Golden drew a 23-yard interference penalty.

So, with a chance to get moving, Tucker Kraft was flagged for holding, Jordan Morgan was flagged for a false start and Donovan Jennings gave up a sack-strip. The Packers got a reprieve when their former teammate, Kingsley Enagbare, was incorrectly blamed for illegal hands to the face. The freebie didn’t matter, though, and the Packers punted.

The Jets took advantage and scored the go-ahead touchdown. Karl Brooks missed a sack on third down and Van Ness, who was perhaps Green Bay’s best defensive player, was flagged for roughing the passer. Smith’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson gave the Jets a 14-7 lead.

The Packers went three-and-out on their next possession. Love threw one in the dirt on third-and-3, leaving the Packers a woeful 0-for-6 on third down. By the time the third quarter expired, the Packers had 101 yards.