In just over two minutes in the fourth quarter Sunday, the Jets’ lead over the Panthers and their playoff hopes vanished.
The Jets blew another fourth-quarter lead and fell 35-27 to the Panthers at MetLife Stadium to drop to 4-7 and fall two games back in the race for an AFC wild card.
The Jets were up 20-18 with 12:16 left to play. Then, quarterback Josh McCown fumbled the ball after getting hit by Carolina defensive end Wes Horton. Linebacker Luke Kuechly scooped it up and ran 34 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Two minutes later, Panthers punt returner Kaelin Clay darted and dashed his way through the Jets for a 60-yard touchdown and a 32-20 lead with 9:54 left.
In the blink of an eye, the Jets unraveled and saw their playoff hopes go from slim to on life support.
“We gave them the game,” Jets linebacker Darron Lee said after their fifth loss in six games. “We really did.”
They certainly did.
From a dropped pass in the end zone by Austin Seferian-Jenkins on the Jets’ first drive of the game to costly penalties by the defense late in the game to the McCown fumble and the punt return for a touchdown, the Jets self-destructed.
“[The] fourth quarter has been a problem the whole year,” coach Todd Bowles said. “You can’t play three good quarters and give up [plays] in the fourth quarter. Obviously, we lose our patience. Everybody is trying to make a play individually and we don’t play team football in the fourth quarter. We gave away the football.”
The Panthers improved to 8-3 despite not playing their best game. The Jets did a solid job slowing down quarterback Cam Newton and had the Panthers frustrated for much of the game.
The story of the game was the Jets being unable to finish a close game again. They have blown leads against the Dolphins, Patriots, Falcons and Panthers in the fourth quarter this season. The Jets have shown they can play with anybody, but they have not been able to get over the hump.
“It makes it much more frustrating,” cornerback Morris Claiborne said. “People had us not to do anything this year. You go up with Super Bowl champs and those types of things and you stand toe-to-toe with those guys, you don’t blink, you don’t flinch and you lose those games by an inch. It hurts, but you have to keep fighting.”
McCown connected with Robby Anderson for two touchdowns. The second was a 54-yard strike that gave the Jets a 17-12 lead with 5:41 left in the third quarter. On the Panthers’ ensuing drive, the Jets stopped them on fourth down at the Jets’ 32, but linebacker Jordan Jenkins was flagged for being offside and the drive continued. Jonathan Stewart would scored from the 2-yard line to put Carolina up 18-17.
“We know every time between third-and-5 or fourth-and-5 or less, they’re going to hard count,” Bowles said. “Not smart football by Jordan.”
On the final play of the third quarter, McCown found Jermaine Kearse for a 42-yard completion. Both Kearse (105) and Anderson (146) went over 100 yards receiving in the game. After Kearse’s long gain, a pass interference penalty on the Panthers gave the Jets first-and-goal from the Carolina 1 early in the fourth quarter.
The Jets then inexplicably passed on three straight downs. On second down, it appeared Seferian-Jenkins had caught a touchdown pass, but replay overturned the call and ruled he did not have control of the ball. The Jets had to settle for a field goal and a 20-18 lead with 14:01 left.
On their next possession, Horton broke through a block from running back Eli McGuire to hit McCown. He tried to throw the ball toward fullback Lawrence Thomas but ended up fumbling it. Kuechly picked it up and ran to the end zone for a 26-20 lead after a two-point conversion.
“I was just trying to throw the ball away,” McCown said. “[Lawrence Thomas] was right there to my right and I was just trying to dirt it to him. We had a miscommunication in protection, a guy came free. We had several possessions behind the sticks and I wasn’t trying to take another third-and-long, a third-and-super-long. So, I was trying to dirt it to [Thomas] and they got to me before I could get it out. Obviously, [in] hindsight I wish I would’ve tucked it and ate it.”
The next series ended with a punt and Clay spun past Jets long snapper Thomas Hennessy and then outraced everyone else to the end zone.
Suddenly, the Jets were down 32-20 with 9:54 left and the game felt over.
“For us to be a good football team and to not fall apart in the fourth quarter, I can think of a handful of plays that I wish we could have got back,” Claiborne said. “That fumble is one of them and that punt return. That was a big one.”
A McCown-to-Kearse touchdown cut the score to 32-27 with 5:32 remaining. The Jets had a shot at getting the ball back with just over two minutes left, but nose tackle Mike Pennel hit Newton after he released an incomplete pass on third down and was flagged for roughing the passer, giving the Panthers a first down. They ran the clock down to 25 seconds and kicked a field goal to ice the game.
The Jets are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet, but any realistic chance they had is gone.
“When you win games, you’re a playoff contender,” Bowles said. “When you lose games, you’re not. Right now, we’re not a playoff contender. We have to go back to the drawing board.”