Patriots vs. Jets: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

Injuries are piling up at the worst time for the New England Patriots, who lost 26-20 in overtime to the New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Patriots only made things more difficult for themselves with one of this year's more puzzling tactical decisions before OT began.

After a James White touchdown reception with 1:55 left in the fourth quarter and an extra point tied the game at 20-20, New England won the coin toss at the end of regulation. Rather than choosing to receive, the Pats decided to kick off to start the extra period.

CBS Sports was one of many baffled by the choice:

ESPN's Kevin Seifert provided of a transcript of the exchange between Slater and the referee during the coin toss:   

The NFL also posted a replay of the toss, with Blakeman and Slater's audible to the viewer:

Unlike the infamous Thanksgiving coin toss involving Jerome Bettis and Phil Luckett, Slater clearly stated he wanted to kick. Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke did put some of the blame on Blakeman:

If the Jets only registered a field goal, New England would've had a chance to respond. Instead, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick found wide receiver Eric Decker in the end zone, capping off a five-play, 80-yard drive to win the game.

The reigning Super Bowl champions have already clinched the AFC East and earned a first-round bye, so the defeat isn't impactful in that respect. Head coach Bill Belichick is likely more worried about having enough healthy bodies once the playoffs begin.

Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung were among those listed as out for Week 16 on the team's injury report, while Scott Chandler, Dont'a Hightower and Josh Kline were questionable.

Sebastian Vollmer, who was forced to move to left tackle after Nate Solder's season-ending biceps injury, joined the growing list of injured Patriots after getting carted off in the first quarter, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. Adam Kaufman of WBZ News Radio is growing more exasperated with the team's health issues:

Bill Simmons was one among many concerned Patriots fans after Vollmer left the game:

For the Boston Globe's Ben Volin, desperate times have arrived in New England:

An injury to a starting tackle, a depleted receiving corps and a strong secondary created a difficult combination for Tom Brady, who finished the game 22-of-31 for 231 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

The Jets also did a great job of bottling up New England on the ground, holding the Patriots to 63 rushing yards for the game and 2.9 yards a carry.

Ryan Fitzpatrick was an impressive 26-of-41 for 296 yards and three touchdowns. He now has 29 TDs on the season, which is a notable number, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Wideout Brandon Marshall was Fitzpatrick's favorite target, catching eight passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Those eight receptions give Marshall over 100 for the season, putting him in company all by himself, per Bleacher Report:

Even when the Patriots seemingly had Marshall well-covered, he still found a way to get his hands on the ball, per the Jets:

Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar figured Brady would do anything to have a wideout like Marshall at his disposal:

Marshall had a hand in New York's first two touchdowns of the game. After Randy Bullock and Stephen Gostkowski exchanged first-half field goals, Marshall caught a two-yard touchdown pass with 1:57 left in the second quarter to put the Jets ahead 10-3 after the extra point.

Their lead grew to 14 points at the 9:13 mark of the third quarter after Marshall's second TD grab of the game and another extra point.

Gostkowski connected on a 44-yard field goal, and Jamie Collins returned a Fitzpatrick fumble 14 yards for a score in the third frame to bring the Patriots to within four points.

After a Bullock field goal made it a seven-point game, 20-13, early in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Jets would earn a straightforward victory. Instead, Brady managed yet another fourth-quarter comeback, albeit in a losing effort.

By itself, Sunday's defeat isn't a cause for concern for New England. The Patriots still own the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and falling to No. 2 wouldn't be the end of the world if it means avoiding the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round.

The bigger worry is whether the Patriots can make a deep run in the playoffs, despite missing a number of key players to injury. New England—regarless of a history of overcoming personnel losses—may have reached a tipping point with Vollmer's exit.

The Jets, meanwhile, did what they could to try to climb into the AFC's top six. New York entered Week 16 in seventh, behind the Pittsburgh Steelers on a tiebreaker. The Steelers' loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday puts the Jets in, and they have a winnable matchup with the Buffalo Bills in Week 17.

Making the playoffs would be a nice achievement for head coach Todd Bowles after the Jets failed to get into the postseason in any of Rex Ryan's final four years.

Postgame Reaction

After the game, Slater was unequivocal about whether the Patriots intended to kick off to start overtime, per Reiss:

"We thought that was the best thing to do," said Belichick, per NFL on ESPN.

Marshall spoke for NFL fans across the country, per Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo:

This isn't the first time Belichick and the Patriots bucked common wisdom and decided to kick after winning an OT coin toss. He used the same tactic against the Denver Broncos in 2013, albeit with a much better outcome.

In that case, the Patriots seemingly gained something of an advantage by taking the wind in difficult weather conditions. Perhaps Belichick made the same calculation Sunday, only for it to backfire in a big way.