Aaron Glenn has no regrets after controversial calls cost Jets in overtime loss

Antwan Staley, New York Daily News on Sep 21, 2026

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — The New York Jets left MetLife Stadium on Sunday with a painful lesson and a lingering question.

Aaron Glenn left with no regrets.

A day after the Jets squandered a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers, Glenn stood by his decision not to call a timeout with about a minute remaining in regulation — a choice that might have cost the Jets an opportunity to win before overtime.

“When we have the punter at the logo, we don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where we get our guys in a backed-up situation,” Glenn said Monday. “I know we are talking about getting our offense going in that situation. But the thing is, they also had two timeouts.

“I just felt like it was the right decision to do at that point. And we actually wanted to play for overtime when it came to that.”

Instead of earning a statement victory and starting 2-0 for the first time since 2015, the Jets let one slip away in the final moments. Green Bay became the first team since 1941 to win a game despite totaling fewer than 200 yards (199), committing more than 100 yards in penalties (133) and finishing with a negative turnover margin (minus-1), according to ESPN.

With 1:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, Packers wide receiver Christian Watson was tackled at the Jets’ 45-yard line on third-and-10, setting up fourth-and-5. The Jets had two timeouts remaining, but Glenn declined to use one to preserve time for his offense.

The Packers then drained the clock before taking a delay-of-game penalty. After a 10-second runoff and a Jets timeout, Green Bay attempted a Hail Mary with two seconds remaining, but Kingsley Enagbare sacked Packers quarterback Jordan Love.

Glenn’s decision even puzzled Packers coach Matt LaFleur.

“Oh yeah, I was really confused by that,” LaFleur said after Sunday’s game. “That’s why we called the timeout and tried a Hail Mary.”

The game went to overtime, where Glenn made another debatable decision by choosing to receive the opening kickoff. Since the NFL changed its postseason overtime rules to guarantee both teams a possession, many coaches have preferred to receive the ball second because it lets them know exactly what they need to win or extend the game.

After the loss, Glenn said he chose to take the ball first because he wanted to control possession during the 10-minute overtime period. When asked Monday whether he regretted any of his decisions or would handle anything differently, Glenn said he did not believe one play determined the outcome.

“There are always going to be decisions in that case,” Glenn said. “I think every coach has that — that’s offense, defense and special teams. I think when the clock got to 11 seconds, I could have easily called a timeout there and forced a punt. We actually ended up getting a sack on the play, so there are other plays in that game that determined the outcome of that game.”

The Jets were fortunate to reach overtime at all.

On their final possession of regulation, they were stuffed on back-to-back runs by Breece Hall and Braelon Allen on third and fourth down, leaving the Packers 1:15 to attempt a game-winning drive. The Jets’ defense prevented Green Bay from scoring, but the offense did nothing with its second chance.

In overtime, the Jets quickly went three-and-out after quarterback Geno Smith was sacked on consecutive plays and Kenyon Sadiq’s 12-yard reception fell well short of the first-down marker on third-and-30.

Green Bay immediately drove into scoring range. Chris Brooks’ 15-yard reception and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Jarvis Brownlee helped set up rookie Trey Smack’s game-winning 26-yard field goal.

Sunday could be a lesson for the Jets. But lessons only matter if they change what happens next.

Glenn may not regret his decisions. If the Jets fail to learn from them, they could regret far more than one September loss.

“It was definitely tough,” Jets safety Dane Belton said. “The emotions were high. Especially in this league, it is always tough to win.

“You work so hard all week and you don’t get that outcome, it is definitely frustrating. But it is something that we can learn from. It’s still early in the year and nothing is over yet, so we are going to learn from it and definitely bounce back this week.”

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