Jets" Fourth-Quarter Mistakes, Unusual and Familiar, Hurt Playoff Hopes CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Rex Ryan approached the lectern at Bank of America Stadium late Sunday evening with the countenance of a man who needed a big hug, a generous pour or both. His voice was a bit hoarse, his eyes a bit droopy, as he recounted how the Jets" 30-20 loss to the Carolina Panthers unfolded like a compressed version of their season. It began with optimism. It deteriorated toward the middle. A brief surge supplied hope that was destroyed by a sudden and spectacular fade. For three quarters, the Jets had managed to stay within 3 points of the Panthers, who came into Sunday having won eight of their last nine games. The Jets had possession of the ball, a chance to claim the lead. Then the game, their season, crumbled within a three-minute stretch of the fourth quarter, a sequence - a blocked punt deep in Jets territory, then an interception returned for a touchdown - that shoved the Jets (6-8) to their fourth loss in five games; to the brink of postseason oblivion; and closer to an off-season that again could send change rippling through the organization. One of those moves could involve dismissing Ryan, who, after Sunday's defeat, is assured of presiding over his third consecutive non-winning season. The playoffs, which seemed at least possible when the Jets entered their bye week at 5-4, are as likely as a blizzard in Miami. One victory by Miami or Baltimore, which plays Monday night in Detroit, would eliminate the Jets. "This one would be Ripley's if we pull this one off," Ryan said. A few minutes earlier, Ryan bristled when asked if he viewed the score after three quarters - 16-13 - as a moral victory. As, perhaps, he should have. The Jets did not curl up at the sight of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. They unfurled creative play-calls - bootlegs, reverses, a goal-line package for defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, who rushed for a touchdown - and avoided careless penalties. They lost because of mistakes, some unfamiliar, some that they have committed with maddening frequency the last three months. "Should haves, could haves, would haves don't win games," offensive lineman Willie Colon said. The Jets had their should haves. Their could haves and would haves, too. They sensed what they called a momentum shift late in the third quarter, after stuffing Carolina on a fourth-and-2 from the 14 and marching 86 yards for a Richardson touchdown that slashed the Panthers" lead to 16-13. "I thought that really, it was just a matter of time," Ryan said. Receiver David Nelson said, "That's kind of where the good teams take advantage." The Jets are not a bad team, but they are not a good team. Good teams win consecutive games during a season. Good teams figure out a way to prevent a defender from running up the middle to block a punt, as Jason Williams did. Four plays later, Mike Tolbert scored from 1 yard. That was the unfamiliar mistake. The familiar mistake came from Geno Smith, whose decision to force a throw to Santonio Holmes into double coverage resulted in a 41-yard interception return by Captain Munnerlyn. The touchdown was as satisfying to Munnerlyn, who like many of his teammates took offense to Holmes's midweek assessment that the Panthers" secondary is their "weakest link," as it was deflating for the Jets. A 3-point deficit had ballooned to 17. "I felt like I let Rex down today, man," said Smith, who was 15 of 28 for 167 yards, a touchdown and that interception. He had talked to me about not having a turnover, about playing the game without a turnover. I wanted to do that today. But in a switch from their last three road games, which they had lost by a combined 79 points, the Jets could blame Smith only partly for the loss, though he was sacked four times and completed only six passes to his wide receivers. The Jets" defense, shredded the last two games by Miami and Oakland as they allowed the most yards in a two-game stretch during Ryan's tenure, looked tired and worn, giving up 392 yards. Newton exploited vulnerabilities in the zone and coverage mismatches on tight end Greg Olsen to throw for 273 yards, 72 of which came on the series that doomed the Jets before halftime. It probably should not be called a series. It was one play. It lasted 20 seconds. It counteracted the Jets" strengths (pass rush) and exploited their weaknesses (back-end speed and tackling). On Carolina's first offensive play after the Jets evened the score at 6-6, Newton faked a screen to his left, spun and tossed a screen to the right to DeAngelo Williams. He zoomed down the sideline, past David Harris and a flailing Ed Reed and Dee Milliner, who could not get off his block, and into the end zone untouched for a 72-yard touchdown. The Jets were in man coverage - the perfect coverage, Ryan said. "Same old stuff here and there," linebacker Calvin Pace said. I always say it's tough to play against an opponent and yourself. Particularly when at least some members of the opposition were irked by Holmes's remarks. Had Holmes never appraised Carolina's secondary, it is possible, even likely, that Sunday's game would have unspooled the same way.But the Panthers found it cute that a receiver on the league's 30th-ranked passing offense would criticize the fifth-ranked pass defense and shared that opinion with him, as well as with every other Jets receiver. One of their defensive backs told Nelson that Holmes, who afterward said that he did not regret his comments, had "messed up" and that "they were going to make us pay throughout the entire game." That is how teams used to treat the Jets, back when they made the playoffs, when they won on the road, when their talent base could withstand a grave miscue, or two, or even three. Now they speak about how a .500 record, achieved by beating Cleveland and Dolphins, would be nice. So would avoiding a complete implosion, they said. "The biggest thing is that we don't want to go 6-10 again," Antonio Cromartie said. A team that beat New England, that throttled New Orleans, now has more modest goals. From possibility to playoffs to pride, for the 2013 Jets.