Another week brought a similar story. The New York Jets came oh so close to winning, only to see their opportunity slip away. Their chance to steal a victory from the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday ended with plenty of questions about the offense's decision-making.
Trailing 38-33with less than 30 seconds remaining, New York got into scoring range before safety Jeremy Chinn intercepted Geno Smith's final pass. There was an obvious alternative: work the sidelines, pick up manageable yardage and give the offense a better opportunity to win the game with one final shot at the end zone.
Instead, the Jets elected to go for it all from the Raiders' 35-yard line with 11 seconds remaining. That obviously didn't work out. Head coach Aaron Glenn explained Monday
why that was the plan.
Glenn wanted two opportunities to attack the end zone. He said the objective was to give Smith two opportunities to make a play for the end zone rather than spend valuable seconds trying to move closer. The decision was deliberate, not an improvised response to the clock. Smith reaffirmed that was the game plan.
Aaron Glenn says that the Jets' plan was to take two shots at the end zone at the end of the game pic.twitter.com/3RT20tXsRP
— SNY Jets (@snyjets) November 1, 2026
The strategy did not produce the desired result. Geno Smith did not point fingers after the defeat. He acknowledged the offense had not done enough to secure the win and emphasized the need to find a way to finish games.
“I think we didn’t do enough to win the game,” Smith said via The Washington Post. “So that’s really where my focus is, is how can we improve and get better so that we can finish the game?”He also looked inward.
"For me, as the quarterback, I'm going to look myself in the mirror and say, 'how can I get better for this team so that we can finish these games?,'" Smith said.
Glenn's explanation provides clarity on the final decision, but it doesn't change the result. The Jets had a chance to extend the game and left without points, dropping to 2-6 after another close loss. Next up on the schedule is a road date vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. They'll look to rebound in that one.
For more from Smith, see the attached clip below:
"I think you throw a hail mary, take two shots if you can"
— SNY Jets (@snyjets) November 1, 2026
Geno Smith talks about the Jets' end of game plan: pic.twitter.com/PA5knUb7XH
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Aaron Glenn, Geno Smith explain Jets' late-game strategy vs. Raiders
