The New York Jets can — and likely should —*be upset about two bad calls that went against them Monday night. But they also can point to some pretty clear self-inflicted mistakes that led to a 27-19 Chicago Bears victory.
Jets quarterback Geno Smith had some strong moments, finishing with 316 passing yards (second most in his career), but was guilty of his poorest play at the worst times —*most often when the Jets were deep in Bears territory, but also once in his own zone early in the game.
Smith wanted to find Chris Johnson on a screen on the Jets’ first possession, and he should have grounded the ball when the Bears’ defense had foiled the play. Instead, Smith forced an awful interception that was run back by Bears safety Ryan Mundy 45 yards for a touchdown 30 seconds into the game.
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After Jets move Bears back six yards on their first possession, Pat ODonnell almost had his punt blocked, but Jets returner Jalen Saunders muffed the return, setting a tone for an ugly night. It was recovered by the Bears rookie*Ahmad Dixon, a seventh-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys who already has spent time on three teams’ rosters before being signed by the Bears two weeks ago.

On the first play after the recovery, Jay Cutler took a shot downfield and was bailed out on a bad underthrow by a bad call —*defensive pass interference (it should have been offensive, against Alshon Jeffery) by Darrin Walls to give the Bears the ball on the Jets 7-yard line. After an incompletion and a dropped pass at the goal line by Brandon Marshall, Cutler found tight end Martellus Bennett for the score as the Jets rushed three and Walls couldn’t turn around in time in coverage.
Smith tried to respond on the following drive and made some nice throws to move the Jets down the field, leading them to a 103-6 yardage edge after 10 minutes despite trailing 14-0. But Smith made another rookie-caliber mistake in taking a 13-yard sack on second down from the Chicago 15, and the Jets settled for a 43-yard Nick Folk field goal.
Then the Bears put together their first real drive of the game. Cutler appeared to find Bennett for a touchdown, but Bennett dropped the contested pass. No worries: The Jets’ secondary bailed them out, as Antonio Allen was guilty of defensive holding, giving the Bears a first down at the Jets’ 13. On third down, Cutler’s pass —*he missed three straight in the red zone on this drive —*to Jeffery was off target. Robbie Gould’s 24-yard field goal upped the Bears’ lead to 17-3.
Smith responded. He hit rookie tight end Jace Amaro for 43 yard on a broken play to flip the field position, and ran a streak of nine straight completions. But once more the Jets’ offense bogged down in the red zone, and Smith’s third-down pass from the Bears’ 10 was batted down by D-lineman Stephen Paea. Folk’s second field goal made it 17-6 Bears.
Smith finally put together his best drive with seven minutes left in the half. He completed 4-of-6 passes for 57 yards, and the Jets were aided by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the Bears’ Lamarr Houston. Capping the drive was Smith’s gorgeous 19-yard TD pass to Jeremy Kerley, who split the seam, cutting the lead to 17-13.

The Bears went into the hurry-up offense and moved the ball downfield to the Jets’ 44 under the two-minute warning, but a David Harris blitz and strip sack on Cutler —*one that the referees missed line but was confirmed on the automatic replay — foiled the drive and gave the ball back to the Jets.

But had it been called correctly, the fumble should have given the Jets a touchdown return after Demario Davis picked the ball up and ran it back. Instead, they weren’t able to move the ball on their final possession of the half. Even though the Bears led throughout, this was a clear turning point in the game.
The Bears took advantage of that fortune to open the second half. Cutler hit Jeffery for 42 yards and the two appeared to hook up on a 12-yard touchdown fade, but a hands-to-the-face penalty by offensive lineman Michael Ola negated the score. But three plays later, Cutler found a wide-open Bennett for his second score of the night on what appeared to be a blown Jets coverage, with Phillip Adams forgetting to cover Bennett to give Chicago a 24-13 lead.
The Jets tried to rally, as Chris Ivory strung together three strong runs and the Jets entered the red zone. But Smith’s stare-down pass intended for David Nelson (who fumbled twice earlier) was picked by rookie Kyle Fuller, who had two fourth-quarter interceptions last week after replacing an injured Charles Tillman. It was the third straight game where Smith has made a key turnover in the opponent’s red zone.

Then the Jets really fell apart. Quinton Coples deflected a Cutler pass at the line that went right through the hands of Allen, who had a miserable night in coverage. Even after the Jets got the ball back in great field position, they could not convert from the Bears’ 2-yard line on a shotgun QB draw by Smith that was stuffed, and Folk’s third field goal of the game cut the lead to 24-16.
After another strong Jets defensive possession, Smith and the offense got the ball back but once more couldn’t finish a drive. Instead of going for it on 4th and 2 — down eight points —*they sent out Folk, who hit his fourth field goal of the night.
The Bears needed a play. They got one. Jeffery once more picked on Allen, snagging a lob from Cutler on 3rd and 9 to convert a first down, and Matt Forte finally turned in a big run after being mostly contained, running for eight tough yards on 3rd and 2 from the Jets’ 37. Even after a Cutler sack, Robbie Gould hit a 45-yard field goal to push the lead back to eight points.
That gave Smith one more chance. He was given a reprieve on his first pass on the next possession, one that should have been picked easily but was dropped by Bears linebacker Jon Bostic. Smith later found a wide-open Greg Salas for his first catch of the night, motoring 51 yards through the Bears’ beat-up secondary.
But Smith could not convert —*again — in the red zone. After some chaotic moments, Smith tried to find Jeremy Kerley (matched up with Fuller in single coverage) on 4th and 5 from the Chicago 9 was thrown too far for him to catch inbounds.
The Bears took a knee and crawled away a 2-1 football team, despite being outgained 414-257. Turnovers, red-zone failures and a few officiating mistakes all doomed the Jets in a game that was ugly start to finish.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm