By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The clock struck midnight for the Cinderella Jets Sunday in Indianapolis.
Gang Green's Super Bowl hopes were dashed in their 30-17 loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship game, but the Jets' faithful, though stung by the loss, were grateful for the exciting ride.
"No Jet fan ever expected them to get this far," Steve Lefkowitz, 34, of Long Island, who watched the game at an Upper East Side bar, told the New York Post. "[Coach] Rex Ryan gives us hope."
"Today wasn't our day. There's no question," said Ryan, in a press conference. "You have to give credit to the Colts. Obviously they're the cream of the crop right now."
The Jets played well for the first half, leading by as much as 11. Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez threw for 257 yards and two touchdown passes, and wide receiver Braylon Edwards had 100 receiving yards and a touchdown.
But after putting up 17 points in the second quarter and taking a 17-6 lead, the Jets would never score again.
As both teams headed into the locker rooms at halftime, the Colts had already begun their comeback. At the two-minute warning, Peyton Manning went 80 yards in four plays to set the Colts up for an easy field goal.
"We didn't come out in the second half with that same attitude and that same fire," Edwards said in a press conference. "We got a little complacent, and the Indianapolis Colts, they exposed that, especially Peyton Manning."
For the Jets, things fell apart after halftime.
Surprise playoff hero running back Shonn Greene left the game injured in the third quarter as Manning continued to drive the Colts downfield with surgical precision. After throwing 8 for 14 in the first half, Manning completed 18 of 25 in the second half.
The Colts took a 20-17 lead with 8:03 left in the third quarter when Manning fired a pass to the corner of the end zone to receiver Pierre Garcon.
"I mean, it's a perfect throw," Jets cornerback Dwight Lowery said in a press conference. "Peyton Manning puts the ball exactly where he wants it to be.”
In the fourth quarter, battling against a seemingly unstoppable Manning, the Jets fate was sealed when quarterback Mark Sanchez, whose growing playoff beard had signaled his growing maturity throughout the Jets’ playoff run, ended the game with an interception.
Still, for Jets fans who have waited 40 years for their team to get back to the Super Bowl, there's always next year.
"It was a good run," Robert Mathrone, 63, of Brooklyn, told the Post. "I'm proud of this team."
