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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Jets cornerback D.J. Reed blasted the officiating Sunday on social media after his team was penalized 12 times for 83 yards in a 26-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium.
“@NFLOfficiating you f—— suck, yall should be ashamed of yall selves.!” Reed said in a since-deleted post on X.
The Jets (3-9) came unraveled in the fourth quarter, committing eight penalties in a span of eight minutes. On the Seahawks’ game-winning touchdown drive, which culminated with an 8-yard run by Zach Charbonnet with 5:31 left in the game, the Jets were flagged five times.
The most egregious call was too many men on the field on a fourth-and-6 play by the Seahawks’ offense. Thinking the Seahawks were going to punt, punt returner Xavier Gipson ran out to take his position even though the defense still was on the field.
“I have to look at every single one of those penalties and see exactly if they’re real, if they’re not real, what caused them, and get to the bottom of it,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said after the game. “It’s not OK. It’s not acceptable. It’s not our standard. Penalties ultimately extend drives. We can’t let that happen.”
Reed was called for pass interference in the first half, when the Jets took leads of 14-0 and 21-7. Penalties have been a problem all season for the Jets. They have allowed five first downs by penalty on fourth down, the most in the NFL this season and tied for the most by any team this century.
“I always say this: The refs, they’re not perfect,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “We’re perfect. If they think they see something, they’re going to throw the flag. So I’m not going to sit up here and just talk bad about the refs. Nobody’s perfect. They were doing their job how they felt. It’s the highest level, and that’s just what it is. And we got to live with those results.”