Rex Ryan defends Geno Smith after Jets lose to Bears

The New York Jets faltered last night at home during their Monday Night Football matchup against the Chicago Bears, losing a close game 27-19.

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Although the score suggests the game was a back and forth affair, in truth it was only made that way in the fourth quarter during the Jets attempt at a comeback. The Jets were playing catch up all night due to an errant first quarter throw from quarterback Geno Smith that was intercepted and returned for a Chicago Bears touchdown.

From that point on, Smith looked uncomfortable most of the night, and ended up throwing another interception in the red zone during a critical Jets drive that would have put the game in reach to win.

While Smith is at least somewhat to blame for the loss, Rex Ryan refuses to hear the criticism that Smith is in any way regressing.

“Guys, this ain’t the same quarterback as he was at the beginning of last year, I don’t care what people say,” Ryan told NFL.com. “Did he make a mistake? Absolutely. Their quarterback made a mistake but the difference was, they caught the ball and we didn’t. I feel good about this football team and I feel good about Geno Smith.”

While Ryan defended the play of his quarterback, Smith himself was critical of his performance.

“It starts with myself,” Smith told the New York Post. “I’ve gotta make sure that when we get down in that red zone — we were 1-for-6 today, and that’s completely awful. We don’t ever expect to ever go 1-for-6 because we hold ourself to a high standard, and it starts with me.”

Geno Smith and the Jets will look to rebound against the Detroit Lions next week at home.

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