Jets vs Packers: Twitter Reaction and Full Post Game Quotes

The tale of two halves comes to a close, as the Green Bay Packers are able to pull out a come-from-behind win over the New York Jets.

The Packers were able to separate themselves by seven points to get to 1-1, but they were on life support as early as the first quarter with one of the slowest starts one fans may ever see from Aaron Rodgers. 

Coming off the bus, the Jets took this game by the throat, recovering a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and converting the favorable field position in seven points. Before long, the Jets offense was rolling along to a 21-3 lead, grounding the high-flying Packers offense at the same time. 

Rex Ryan's defense had all of the answers to Rodgers and the passing game. Geno Smith was in an unshakable rhythm, hitting Eric Decker and Jeremy Kerley for big plays. 

However, the game took a sharp turn after an interception late in the second half from Smith. Trying to hit Zach Sudfeld on a deep pattern, Smith was hit while throwing the ball, causing the ball—and the Jets' momentum—to sail into the arms of Tramon Williams. 

Rodgers proceeded to take the Packers the length of the field in a textbook two-minute drill to not only cut the lead to five points, but to lay some seeds of doubt into the Jets' minds.

As soon as the Packers drew within one score of taking the lead, the snowball of doubt kept rolling along. 

Eric Decker left the game with a hamstring injury, resulting in noticeable effects on the Jets offense. Smith was out of rhythm, while the running game became predictable and easy to contain. Just a week after dropping 170 yards on the ground against the Oakland Raiders, Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson averaged 2.2 and 1.8 yards per carry, respectively. 

Plays	Yards	Result
5	16	Punt
3	-2	Punt
8	42	Field Goal
4	-2	Punt
3	7	Punt
13	39	On Downs

Ryan's defense had no answers for receiver Jordy Nelson. His historic day included a 80-yard touchdown over a hobbled Dee Milliner, sending the former first-round cornerback back to the bench. 

Frustrations would eventually reach a boiling point. Star defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson was ejected from the game for throwing a few haymakers during a post-touchdown brawl—creating a hole in the Jets' defense and, eventually, in Muhammad Wilkerson's bank account. 

Although, based on his post-fight expression, his inevitable fine was the last thing on his mind:

When the Jets were able to make plays, trivial errors would negate them. David Harris' interception of Rodgers in the second half was negated by a penalty for too many men on the field, extending the defenses' drought of not being able to create a timely turnover that goes back to last season. 

The second-half brawl was not even the most controversial event of the game. What would have been a heroic late-game touchdown from Geno Smith to Jeremy Kerley was negated by a timeout that was (illegally) requested by offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport explains. 

However, as Brian Costello of the New York Post notes, the actual ruling for who is permitted to call timeouts is not as cut and dry as it seems. According to the league, the refs actually got the call right. 

While the timeout should not have been granted, the fact that the whistle was blown negated what would have been a game-tying touchdown that could have erased all of the team's shortcomings in the second half.

The Jets can blame the officiating hiccups all they want, but the truth is that this game was theirs for the taking. Their offensive and defensive game plans were flawless on their way to a 21-3 lead, but they were unable to adapt to injuries (and ejections) and counter the adjustments made by the opposing coordinators.

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This game also highlighted a lot of glaring roster holes that were covered against the feeble Oakland Raiders. The thin secondary was unable to sustain itself for more than a half of football. Decker's absence made it nearly impossible for Smith to move the ball through the air.

Losing close games against quality opponents are always difficult to get over, but this game had a particularly strong stench of the "Same Old Jets" tag that the team has been desperately trying to shake. This was a game that was lost in a way that, seemingly, only the Jets could—to the glee of headline writers everywhere. 

As bad as the loss was, there are some silver linings to take away from this game. In a game where they were expected to get blown out by an "angry" Green Bay team at home, the Jets showed flashes of dominance when operating at full throttle. 

The game did reveal some holes the Jets were expected to have at the beginning of the game, but it did show just how good they were capable of being if they can clean up some of their frustrating-yet-fixable mistakes—and never allow anyone not wearing a sweater vest on the sideline to try calling a timeout ever again.

The rest of their schedule does not get any easier (Chicago Bears are next), but this should give the team some peace of mind knowing they can compete with the rest of the contenders across the league.