NEW YORK _ Bryce Petty was greeted by a round of applause as he trotted onto the field on Sunday.
But in the first NFL start of his career, he proved to be as erratic as many of the other Jets quarterbacks who have come before him.
The second-year quarterback, who replaced injured Ryan Fitzpatrick, flashed his skills on a 99-yard, second-quarter scoring drive, but he also sealed the Jets' fate with a late fourth-quarter interception in a 9-6 loss to the L.A. Rams (4-5).
With two minutes left and the Jets at their 42, Petty's pass intended for Quincy Enunwa was picked off by Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree.
Greg Zuerlein's 34-yard field goal with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter, his third of the game, put the Rams ahead to stay. The Jets, losers of two straight, fell to 3-7.
Petty went 10-for-14 for 112 yards and one touchdown in the first half. The Jets were shut out in the second half and Petty finished 19-for-32 for 163 yards and a quarterback rating of 70.2.
The most exciting play of the second half was a 78-yard punt by the Rams' Johnny Hekker.
The Jets offense went three-and-out on its first drive. Their next series began on the Jets' 1-yard line _ and it ended with a well-executed 99-yard scoring drive, capped by some Chan Gailey trickery.
On second-and-9 from the Jets' 2, Petty went deep to Robby Anderson down the left sideline for a 52-yard connection that instantly flipped field position for the Jets. A 28-yard run by Matt Forte helped move the Jets to the Rams' 4. And that's when the offensive coordinator opened up the playbook.
After Petty threw his first incompletion, Gailey dialed up a hook-and-ladder play that stunned the Rams defense and the MetLife Stadium crowd. Working out of the shotgun on third-and-goal, Petty threw a pass to Brandon Marshall at the Rams' 10 and Marshall lateraled to Powell, who scampered 10 yards into the end zone.
The play was officially scored a 4-yard touchdown pass for Petty. But kicker Nick Folk missed the extra point, making the score 6-3.
