The Green Bay Packers beat the New York Jets 20-17 in overtime Sunday at MetLife Stadium, winning a game they were outplayed in for long stretches. The Jets held the ball for 37:40 and never turned it over. They still did not score again after taking a two-score lead early in the fourth quarter.
That stall decided it. Down 17-7, Green Bay found a touchdown and a tying field goal late in regulation before Smack won it in overtime.
How It Happened
Neither team scored in the first quarter. Jordan Love broke the tie with a 6-yard touchdown pass to MarShawn Lloyd at 9:35 of the second quarter. The Jets answered at 6:04 on a 5-yard Braelon Allen run, and the game went to halftime tied 7-7.
New York took control in the third. Geno Smith hit Garrett Wilson for a 5-yard touchdown with 2:30 left in the quarter, and the Jets led 14-7 heading into the fourth.
Jason Sanders pushed the lead to 17-7 with a 32-yard field goal at 11:04. That was the Jets' last score of the day. Love found Christian Watson for a 3-yard touchdown at 7:58 to cut it to 17-14, and Smack tied it with a 34-yard field goal at 2:59.
Overtime
Smack ended it with a 26-yard field goal at the 5:23 mark of overtime. The Packers converted 2 of 4 red zone trips into touchdowns on the day.
Green Bay won without sustaining much of anything. The Packers converted 1 of 9 third downs and managed 199 total yards, well short of the Jets' output.
Key Performers
Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love: 2 TD passes – 6 YDS to MarShawn Lloyd, 3 YDS to Christian Watson
Trey Smack: FG – 34 YDS (tying), 26 YDS (OT winner); extra points after both touchdowns
Packers passing (team): 16-29, 136 net YDS, 0 INT
Packers defense: 4 sacks for 29 YDS
Love's two scoring throws came from 6 and 3 yards out. The defense earned its share too, getting to Smith's offense repeatedly and holding the Jets scoreless after Sanders' field goal at 11:04 of the fourth, including all of overtime.
New York Jets
Geno Smith: 5-YD TD pass to Garrett Wilson
Braelon Allen: 5-YD rushing TD
Jason Sanders: FG – 32 YDS; 2 extra points
Jets passing (team): 27-41, 218 net YDS, 0 INT
The Jets moved the ball through the air but could not run it, averaging 2.5 yards a carry. That left them leaning on third downs, and they converted 8 of 19.
What It Means
Both teams leave Week 2 at 1-1. The Packers' first two games have both come on the road, and they split them.
The Jets' split is the stranger one. They are 1-0 away from home and 0-1 at MetLife, and this loss came in a game where they ran 72 plays to Green Bay's 50. Dominating the clock at home and losing anyway is the kind of result that sticks.
Neither side has much to brag about on discipline. The Packers were flagged 14 times for 133 yards and the Jets 13 times for 156, with New York giving away more yardage.