Marty Mornhinweg, known for once electing to kick in a sudden-death overtime situation, was at it again on Sunday with an epic mistake.
The New York Jets were down 31-24 and had a 4th-and-4 from the Packers’ 36. Mornhinweg, the Jets’ offensive coordinator, didn’t like what he saw and came running down the sidelines yelling for a timeout.
The referees blew the whistle before the play started, but the players still seemed to play it out. Geno Smith threw a touchdown pass but it was wiped out by the timeout.
Only head coaches are supposed to be able to call timeouts, but the referee must have thought it was Rex Ryan calling for one and granted it (Ryan said after the game that he wasn’t the one who called it).
After the timeout was called, the Jets converted the fourth down but turned it over on downs after that and failed to produce any points. They lost 31-24. The touchdown likely would have tied the game.
About the only positive thing we can say for Mornhinweg is that some of the players may not have been going hard on the 4th-down play because they heard the whistles, meaning that we don’t know what would have happened had everyone been at full effort. Still, it’s so much more fun to blame Mornhinweg for the loss.
UPDATE: Jets DL Sheldon Richardson says he’s the one who told the referee to call timeout because he saw Mornhinweg was gesturing for one.
