Jets vs. Packers: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 Regular Season

The game didn't go exactly as planned, but the result's all that counts for the Green Bay Packers, who picked up a hard-fought 31-24 win at home over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Late in the fourth quarter, New York had one final chance to tie the game and looked like it did with a 36-yard bomb to Jeremy Kerley on fourth down. However, the play was wiped out because Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg called a timeout. Compounding the absurdity of it all was the fact that only head coaches can call timeouts from the sideline.   

It was the kind of sequence of events that typifies the Jets' last four or five years. ESPN's Mike Greenberg summed it up best:

New York converted the fourth-down attempt but turned the ball over on downs four plays later. Without any timeouts left, it couldn't stop the clock on Green Bay's next drive. The Packers killed out the clock and sealed the victory.

That was the culmination of what was a terrible second half for the Jets. After getting off to a blinding start, New York managed three points over the final two quarters. The Packers, on the other hand, saved their best football for the final stretch of the game.

Geno Smith went 6-of-18 passing in the second half to finish with 176 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

On the other side, Aaron Rodgers recovered well after an up-and-down first half to finish with 346 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-42 passing. Jordy Nelson was a rock in the passing game, recording nine receptions for 209 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 16 targets.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan mentioned earlier in the week that game-planning for a quarterback like Rodgers can keep him up at night.

"He's a smart player," he said, per the New York Post's Brian Costello. "He knows where to go with the football. He is accurate. He's got a great arm. And then he's got the mobility and the escapability. So yeah, it's tough to sleep this week as a coach."

With the way that New York closed out the game, in addition to how the secondary broke down in the second half, he may have a few more sleepless nights ahead.

Jets fans were in dreamland to start the game, as New York's first three drives of the game all resulted in a touchdown.

Rodgers fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, giving the Jets offense great field position. Five plays later, Smith ran it in from a yard out to give New York an early 7-0 lead.

Eric Decker doubled the lead with a 29-yard touchdown grab. Smith put his pass right on the money as the ball fell right over the top of the secondary and into the arms of Decker.

ESPN's Bomani Jones surely wasn't the only person doing a double take after a cursory glance at the score:

According to Randy Lange of NewYorkJets.com, this was the first time since 2009 that the Jets scored with their first two drives of the game:

And it only got better for New York from there.

Jets running back Chris Ivory punched the ball in from four yards out to give the Jets a 21-3 lead with 10:38 left in the half. Smith completed five of his six passes and orchestrated a 17-play, 80-yard drive that ate 8:28 seconds off the clock.

Not only were the Jets scoring points, but they were also doing so in such a way that the Packers' high-powered offense remained off the field for long stretches.

Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke thought the porous Green Bay defense was only a step or two away from getting downsized:

The Packers awoke from their slumber in the second quarter, though.

Mason Crosby added two field goals to close the deficit to 12 points, 21-9.

The Jets had another chance to add some points before the half and looked poised to do so. New York got the ball down to the Green Bay 27-yard line before Smith threw his only interception of the game. He was under heavy pressure and heaved the ball toward the end zone, where it was picked off by Packers cornerback Tramon Williams.

ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky credited defensive tackle Mike Daniels for getting the hit on Smith that ultimately led to the turnover:

The Packers weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Green Bay went 97 yards in 1:44, with Rodgers finding Randall Cobb in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-16 heading into halftime.

The stat sheet illustrated how Green Bay's second-quarter surge reduced the gulf between the two teams. The Jets had 214 yards of total offense, compared to 210 for the Packers. New York averaged 5.8 yards per play, and Green Bay was slightly behind at 5.1.

Smith had one of his best halves in a Jets uniform, completing 10-of-14 passes for 104 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Rodgers was both the Packers' leading passer and rusher. He had 183 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-30 passing in addition to 30 yards on four carries.

New York had the ball to start the second half, which was a chance for the Jets to reassert their dominance in the game. The Packers defense was still looking a little shaky, and a touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter would've been a major blow for Green Bay.

However, the Jets offense stalled, punting after six plays. The drive nearly ended much worse, with Geno Smith losing the ball on his own 16-yard line after getting hit by Julius Peppers. The Packers recovered, and the referees initially ruled the play a fumble.

The official took a look under the hood and eventually ruled that Smith's arm was going forward, thus the play was an incomplete pass. Fox Sports' Mike Pereira had an explanation of the decision:

The Jets punted two players later.

Slowly but surely, you could feel the tide of the game changing. It's almost like New York peaked too early in the game and left too much time for the Packers to regain their bearings. After scoring 13 unanswered points, Green Bay was poised to take control in the second half.

And that's exactly what it did with 5:45 to go in the third quarter. Cobb caught his second touchdown pass of the game, this one from a yard out to give the Packers their first lead of the day. After converting the two-point attempt, they went ahead 24-21.

The teams got into a brief scuffle after the conversion. Jets defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson got into it with Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari. Wilkerson threw a couple of punches, which got him ejected from the game. He looked unfazed with the decision, per Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday:

Nick Folk hit a 52-yard field goal three minutes later to tie the game at 24-24, but the Pack responded swiftly in the form of an 80-yard pass-and-catch between Rodgers and Nelson. New York's secondary was exposed in a big way, with missed tackles and poor pursuit angles galore.

Down 31-24, the Jets suffered another major blow in the form of an injury to Decker. Martin reported he was suffering from a hamstring issue and was doubtful to return:

Even still, the Jets found themselves with the ball in the final minutes and a chance to tie the game. This will be a stinging loss and could come back to haunt New York in a big way at the end of the season.

The Packers, meanwhile, washed the bad taste out of their mouths from their Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and head into what's a tough series of matchups ahead.

Green Bay kicks off a three-game NFC North stretch in Week 3 when it travels to Detroit to take on the Lions. Coming off a bad 24-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Lions will be itching to get back in the win column.

The Jets are right in the middle of a three-game set with the NFC North as they welcome in the Chicago Bears next week. New York certainly had its moments on Sunday. If the team can cut out the mental mistakes, then it has a great chance of picking up its second win of 2014.