(My Sportsbook) - If the New York Jets fail to make the playoffs this season, they can look no further than their 20-17 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday as to the reason why.

Leading by 14 late in the first half and driving deep into Baltimore territory, the Jets had a chance to put the game away. Instead they committed a crucial turnover which led to a Ravens touchdown and shifted all the momentum to the Baltimore locker room, as the two teams headed into the break.

"We ran the play, thought it might work, and thought maybe we would get up 21 on them," Jets head coach Herman Edwards said. "The worst thing that could have happened, happened -- we threw an interception."

The turnover came courtesy of an ill-advised halfback option, which saw Lamont Jordan throw inexplicably to no one except Ravens safety Ed Reed, who took it back 104 yards for an apparent score before a penalty negated the touchdown.

So, the Ravens took over at the Jets' 36 yard line with three timeouts and 1:33 left on the clock. Baltimore needed just 47 seconds to run seven plays and pulled within seven on Kyle Boller's six-yard touchdown pass to Clarence Moore.

Once again, seven plays in 47 seconds with three timeouts before cashing in on a momentum-changing score. Now let's look at how the Jets coaching staff handled a similar situation late in regulation.

After Boller connected with Moore again to give the Ravens their first lead of the game at 17-14, the Jets moved the ball to the Baltimore 17 on the ensuing drive with two minutes remaining and all three timeouts.

On 1st-and-10 Curtis Martin went for five yards, and on second down lost a yard, as the Jets used their first timeout with 55 seconds to play. Two plays in a 1:05.

Don't worry, it gets worse.

On 3rd-and-6, Quincy Carter went for nine yards on a quarterback draw to set up a 1st-and-goal with Jordan getting a yard on the next play. The Jets then used their second timeout with 14 seconds to play. Four plays in 1:46.

After a Baltimore time out, Carter was pressured and threw the ball out of bounds with eight seconds left. Then, unbelievably, the Jets failed to get the play in on time and were forced to use their third and final timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty.

"We got the play in but they didn't get out of the huddle fast enough," said Edwards. "We didn't help [Carter], we gotta help him."

Edwards then opted to kick the game-tying 20-yard field goal, instead of taking another shot at the end zone for a chance at the win. He probably would have been better served taking the penalty and keeping the final timeout, but that is neither here nor there, as it is inconceivable that Jets were even in that situation.

Based on his inability to tell time in the past, Edwards had hired a clock management specialist this past offseason, Dick Curl, whose only job is to help in situations just like this. Where was Mr. Curl on Sunday, as the Jets got off a whopping five plays in the final two minutes.

Even with the Jets' ineptness in the second half (28 total yards before the tying drive) and the coaching blunders late, this game changed on the Jordan option in the first half.

Why embattled offensive coordinator chose that moment to get tricky is anyone's guess, but Jordan took all the blame.

"I automatically said that this game is on my shoulders," Jordan said. "That play definitely was the turning point in the game. We are up 14-0, we just had a big play, and we are going in to score, then I threw an interception. They get the momentum and we just never got the momentum back."

Too bad the coaching staff does not take the same accountability.

INJURIES: Tight end Chris Baker injured his hand but later returned to action. X-rays after the game, though, revealed the hand is broken and will miss some time. Also safety John McGraw (abdominal) and defensive end Shaun Ellis (groin) missed the game.

UP NEXT: The Jets (6-3), who have lost three of their last four, head to Cleveland to face the Browns this week.