--K Jay Feely was perfect from 45 yards, with room to spare, early in the fourth quarter. It appeared the Jets had cut their deficit to 10-6. But the kick didn't count because the Jets were assessed a penalty for delay of game.
Feely said the problem was that the officials spotted the ball later than usual, and thus didn't give the Jets a lot of time.
"We were waiting for the K-ball," said Feely, referring to the ball used for placekicks. He added that the referee didn't remove his hand from the ball until 12 or 13 seconds were left on the play clock, as opposed to putting it in play with a full complement of 25 seconds.
Coach Eric Mangini said, "There was no real reason for that." He then elected to punt, even though Feely had shown plenty of leg on the kick that didn't count. The Jets pinned Seattle at its own 7 on Reggie Hodges' punt, and New York got the ball at its own 39 on the next possession but did nothing with it.
--Before the game, Brett Favre and his former coach with Green Bay, Mike Holmgren, shared a not-so-private moment in front of numerous camera operators and photographers. Holmgren is planning to take next season off from coaching.
"I just wished him well," a happy Holmgren said after the game, "and said next year when I'm riding my motorcycle around, I want to come down (to Mississippi) and have a little catfish with him."
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for him," Favre said. "Did I want to win the game? Absolutely. ... I think he's one of the best coaches, not only coaching today, but in the history of the game."
--It was a tough day Sunday for the Jones family. Thomas was limited to 67 yards on 17 carries, and his longest gain was 7 yards as his playoff-contending team lost in a must-win situation. Meanwhile, younger brother Julius didn't have any touches as he continued to disappear from the Seattle offense.
