4 Studs, 5 Duds From Jets' Heartbreaking Loss to Packers (Aaron Glenn Shines, Struggles)

Here's who stood out for the right and wrong reasons on Sunday afternoon.

Sports Illustrated's Nick Faria shares his Week 2 studs and duds after the Jets fell to the Packers, with HC Aaron Glenn making multiple appearances. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For three and a half quarters, it seemed like the Jets had truly turned a corner.

Then the fourth quarter happened. New York squandered a 10-point lead in the final quarter and lost a gut-wrenching 20-17 overtime game to the Packers, giving Jets fans intense déjà vu.

Same old Jets.

New York built a 10-point lead on the back of excellent pass defense, which held Jordan Love to just 145 passing yards. They also held Green Bay's rushing attack to under four yards per carry.

So how did it happen? How did the Jets squander their slight fourth-quarter edge to fall to 1-1 on the season?

My latest studs and duds from Week 2 helps shed some light on Sunday's loss.

Stud: Aaron Glenn's defense

We'll start positive. Through the first two games of the season, the Jets' defense has been a major positive for them, even with injuries plaguing them for most of the start of the season. New York held Green Bay to just five yards per pass while they harassed Love for a majority of the game.

Jowon Briggs, David Bailey, and Kingsley Enagbare all recorded a sack, while Jamien Sherwood had a bounce-back performance. Through two games, the Jets have held quarterbacks to just 4.7 yards per pass and just 285 yards through the air.

Since taking over play-calling, Glenn has shown that the defense has not been the problem for them at the start of the season. If anything, they have been an underrated strength of the team.

Dud: Jets' offensive line

This one was a shocker. The Jets walked into Week 2 with the seemingly superior offensive line after dominating the Titans and their All-Pro defensive tackle in Week 1. Without Micah Parsons or Javon Hargrave, it should have been another slaughter for the Jets.

Instead, the offensive line got their butts whooped. And it happened throughout the game. Geno Smith was sacked four times and recorded just 2.5 yards per carry.

(The Packers) pressured and stunted pretty much the whole game. There was a lot of interior pressure and their safety was down in the box a lot today.

Josh Myers on O-line in Week 2

The Jets won't be successful this season if their offensive line cannot control the line of scrimmage. It also altered how the game was called and played. Late in the game, with the score tied at 17, the Jets had a third- and fourth-and-one at midfield. If they picked up a first down, they would get even closer to field goal range to win the game.

Instead, they were stuffed both times. That is the game. Fans can talk about the coaching decisions or the penalties (we'll talk about those shortly), but this team is built on its offensive line, and the group let them down today.

Stud: Jets' secondary

New York was without Minkah Fitzpatrick and still put forth an excellent effort in the secondary. The Packers posted 387 yards against the Vikings in Week 1. Today, they were completely shut down. There will be things to fix for the collective group, but the trio of AZ Thomas, Brandon Stephens, and Jarvis Brownlee had a good game in coverage.

AZ Thomas gave Jets fans plenty to cheer about in Week 2, even if they didn't walk away with the win. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dane Belton and Andre Cisco were also good in their safety spots as well. Cisco recorded a forced fumble while Belton flew around the field.

What was considered a major question mark going into the season has been nothing but a strength so far.

Dud: Aaron Glenn's timeout usage

A lot of analysts and fans have blamed this loss on Glenn due to his late-game decisions. I think this game had more to do with the Jets' offensive line failing them when they needed it most.

You cannot defend the lone mistake the head coach made in his timeout usage. New York wasted all three timeouts in the first quarter of Sunday's loss.

That affected the end of the second quarter when the Jets tried to utilize a two-minute drill but without any timeouts. New York ended up not scoring and went into the half tied. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Jets had the Packers on a fourth-and-five with around 50 seconds to play. Instead of calling a timeout to get one last chance to win the game, the Jets let the Packers get a delay-of-game call and sent the game into overtime.

Are things different if he calls a timeout? Probably not, but Glenn has talked about being aggressive throughout the offseason. That was a time to show that. Instead, he chose to sit out a timeout he never got back. Not a good job.

Stud: Kingsley Enagbare

One player who deserves a shoutout was Kingsley Enagbare. The former Packer played very well on Sunday, recording both a forced fumble and a sack in the Jets' loss. I spoke with the veteran edge rusher in an exclusive interview earlier this week, and he talked about treating Week 2 against his former team like any other game.

He didn't play like it. He played even better than anyone could have expected.

As New York waits for Joseph Ossai to get healthy, the team should feel good about Enagbare's play so far to begin the year.

Dud: Jets' Special Teams

If the Jets' offensive line struggling on Sunday was a surprise, then the special teams play was stunning. New York recorded a single field goal conversion. They also had Austin McNamara record nearly 50 yards per punt.

But Isaiah Williams muffed multiple punts in the rain and looked unsure on several other kicks made by Green Bay. New York needed him to excel today with some injuries on offense, and he didn't do enough.

Then, to make matters even worse, the Packers recorded a 63-yard punt return midway through the fourth quarter that put them in a position to tie the game. Before that, the Jets still felt like they were in control. But that return changed everything right away.

New York's special teams unit was the best in football in Week 1. They were a big reason they lost today.

Stud: Breece Hall

I thought Breece Hall had a good day today, despite the offensive line giving him no chance. He averaged just 1.8 yards per carry, but also led the team in receiving yards with 63, including a 43-yard screen that put the team in scoring position.

Jets RB Breece Hall made the most of what he had to work with in Week 2. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hall is a big play performer. New York is right to try to pound the rock with him, but they have also seen what he can do as a pass catcher as well. Sunday was a solid reminder of that, but poses another concerning point.

Dud: Frank Reich

If Week 1 was an excellent start for Frank Reich's run as offensive coordinator, Sunday was a massive step back. And all the evidence needed was the final three minutes of the game. New York made the right call to go for it on 3rd and 4th and short with two minutes left.

"It was tough, but I still have a lot of trust in our run game," Glenn said. "In that situation, I want to go try to win the game."

The play-calls, though, were terrible.

The Jets' offensive line was getting beat all game. Instead of giving them an easier assignment, Reich called three shotgun runs that forced Braelon Allen to run five yards before even getting to the line of scrimmage.

No coach should ever call plays from shotgun on third- or fourth-and-short. It doesn't make any sense, especially when the team needs a yard.

In overtime, the Jets offense kicked off their first play by asking Hall—their pass-catching running back who had the biggest play of the day through the air—to block. He promptly got beat, and Smith was sacked, which essentially sunk the drive.

We can talk about Glenn's timeout usage or the team giving up special teams plays. But Reich did them no favors on Sunday.

Dud: Penalties

Penalties weren't the reason the Jets lost, but they didn't help either. New York was called for 13 penalties for 156 yards. The final one came when slot cornerback Jarvis Brownlee hit a Packer out of bounds on the game-winning drive. Maybe the Packers still score, but the play was inexcusable.

The Packers were also called for 14 penalties on their own, but at the end of the game, when plays needed to be made, the Jets were more undisciplined.

That was the end result.

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