NFL

Geno shoulders blame for backbreaking loss

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Geno Smith was not the only reason the Jets lost to the Panthers 30-20 Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, but he acted as he always does after a loss — with accountability.

“I feel as though I let Rex down,’’ the rookie quarterback said of head coach Rex Ryan. “He talked to me about not having a turnover, playing a game without a turnover, and I wanted to do that. On one occasion, I got sloppy with it and forced [a throw].’’

The force was a pass Smith tried to get to receiver Santonio Holmes with 8:17 remaining in the game and the Jets trailing 23-13. The pass was picked off by Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, who returned it 41 yards for a game-clinching touchdown.

It was Smith’s 21st interception this season and a franchise-tying fifth to be returned for a touchdown.

“Bad throw,’’ Smith said. “I forced it. Should have checked the ball down. I place a lot of blame on myself. If I check that ball down and try not to force it into a window that was too tight, we are right in it. So it all just falls back on me.’’

Smith finished the game 15-of-28 for 167 yards, one touchdown to tight end Jeff Cumberland and the one pick. He was sacked four times, with the Panthers blitzing more than they had shown on film. Munnerlyn, in fact, had two of the sacks.

“We had seen it on tape,’’ Smith said. “I don’t know how many times they [blitzed], maybe more than any other time. They hit home with it on one or two of those occasions.’’

Panthers safety Mike Mitchell was complimentary of the way Smith played.

“I thought he was a good player,” Mitchell said. “He made some good throws, made some good reads and good pays. Obviously, he’s still a young player and he’s got some room to grow, but I thought he was a good football player.’’

Jets receiver David Nelson, who had three catches for 44 yards, said, “I felt like [Smith] did a really good job of managing the game.

“We knew coming in it was very well documented — we talked about it and you [the media] talked about it all week long — about how good their defense was statistically and how bad our offense was statistically. Look at it on paper and this game should have been a 35-0 blowout. We did a good job of managing the game and not turning it over,’’

Until the end, when Munnerlyn made that pick-six.

“It’s unfortunate that one play is how this game will be remembered for him,’’ Nelson said. “As a young player playing a tremendous defense like that, he did a good job putting 20 points up on the board.’’

As usual for the Jets, though, it was not enough.