The game against Seattle at MetLIfe Stadium on Sunday threw several more curveballs at the Jets and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich. This time the Green & White got off to an early two-touchdown lead they had been craving all season. But slowly they yielded the lead to the Seahawks and their own issues and fell, 26-21

"We started playing really good complementary football in all three phases," Ulbrich said after another stay-ahead or come-from-behind bid came up short and his team fell to 1-6 under his command and 3-9 on the season. "We didn't end the first half the way we needed to and should have. The second half was not clean football at all by all three phases."

There were several places to start but many reporters' questions focused on QB Aaron Rodgers and the offense, who had the ball late in a game for the sixth time and at least a chance to either win or send a game to overtime; they succeeded only against the Texans in Week 9.

The coach was asked how he felt about Rodgers' game, which included 21-of-39 passing for 185 yards, those two early TD passes but also a deflected interception that former Jets first-round pick Leonard Williams returned 92 yards for his first pro touchdown.

"We've got to figure that out and figure it out quickly," the IHC said of the issues for Rodgers, one of the best comeback QBs in the NFL over his 20-year career. "It's never on one person, it isn't. It's on the collective group, from coaches to players to every single human being out there on offense.

"I've got to watch the tape with Todd [Downing, pass-game coordinator and offensive play-caller]," Ulbrich said specifically about his QB's play. "A lot of times he'll give me all the nuances and intricacies in the game plan, the footwork, the timing and all that. That'll be a better question for tomorrow."

Another question for down the line if at all was if Ulbrich was thinking of benching Rodgers. "Not as of today," he said.

Rodgers replied to a similar question about his starting status: "We'll figure that out when we have those conversations."

But Ulbrich was certainly correct about the onus for this loss being on multiple shoulder pads. Among the issues:

Defense: The D had big ups and big downs. The first half wasn't bad as the unit allowed 10 points and 124 yards, then started the second half with a stirring goal-line stand, surviving six plays and two penalties after Seattle moved to first-and-goal at their 4 and then first-and-goal from a foot. Quincy Williams applied the drive-ending fourth-down sack of Geno Smith.

But similar to the Colts game two weeks ago before the bye week, the opponents put together two scoring drives to pull ahead. On Sunday it was a 10-play series to set up Jason Myers' 43-yard field goal followed by a 9-play, 71-yard march to Zach Charbonnet's 8-yard go-ahead run with 5:31 left.

"We had moments when we really played our brand of football to our standard, and moments when we did not. That's been the common tale of the season," Ulbrich said. "We've had breakdowns that don't allow you to win games like that."

Penalties: The Jets had only two penalties called on them for 10 yards in the first half. In the second half, they were flagged 10 times for 73 yards.

"We've got to take a hard look at this tape, just the operation, the penalties, a little bit of a lot of different stuff," he said. "We've got to make sure we're cleaner there. ... I've got 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 it's not OK, It's not acceptable, it's not our standard. Penalties ultimately extend drives and we can't let that happen."

Ulbrich even took the personal blame for a couple of miscues. Late in the second quarter, Seattle got the ball with 1:05 to play at its 21 and went 3-and-out. But the Jets didn't call any of their timeouts there and wound up with the ball at their 36 but with 6 seconds left in the half. "In hindsight," he said, "that might have not been the best thing to do."

And in the fourth quarter, with the Seahawks going for it on 4th-and-6 from their 33, presumably because punter Michael Dickson was fighting through an in-game injury, the Jets were flagged for too many men on the field, with the 12th man being punt returner Xavier Gipson, whom coaches didn't signal to get off the field because the visitors weren't punting. Ulbrich: "We've got to be better communicating that across the board."

But the coach was right again to spread the responsibility around, not only because that's what HCs do but because whatever the results of the Jets' final five games are, all the players and staff will contribute to it. So what do the Jets do now, with their record precluding even a bid for a winning season? Ulbrich set his jaw before answering.

"Keep pushing. We don't have a whole lot of options other than we've got to keep working and stay together," he said. "It's a true test of every man and every coach in that locker room. We've got to respond. That's the only choice."