BAH HUMBUG!

Jets remain on naughty list with another ugly loss

If the Jets-Chargers game was a Christmas present, you would return it.

The Chargers topped the Jets, 14-7, in a miserable Christmas Eve game at MetLife Stadium that featured 18 punts. The loss was the Jets’ third in a row and eighth in their past 10 games. It dropped them to 5-10 with the season finale against the Patriots coming next week in Foxborough, Mass. The Jets look as if they could finish with back-to-back 5-11 seasons.

This loss was similar to last week’s in New Orleans. The defense did its part, limiting the Chargers to two touchdowns, but the offense was dismal. Quarterback Bryce Petty had an awful outing in his second start of the season. He completed 15-of-28 passes for 119 yards, with one interception, for a rating of 49.6.

Despite Petty’s struggles and the fact he injured his hand in the first half, coach Todd Bowles said he did not consider benching him for Christian Hackenberg, who has yet to play a regular-season snap in two seasons as a professional.

“Bryce needs to work his way through things,” Bowles explained. “It’s only his second game starting this year. He needs to go through that.”

Hackenberg did warm up at one point in the second quarter after Petty hit his throwing hand on a teammate’s helmet. Though Petty was hurting and completed just 53.6 percent of his passes, Hackenberg remained on ice. Is Hackenberg simply that bad? “He’s not bad,” Bowles said. “Bryce is the backup quarterback. He won it in the summer. You put the backup in. You don’t put a three over a two. Christian is not that bad. Bryce did not have a good ballgame. It’s only his second start. I’m not going to sit here and condemn the guy because he didn’t play well in week two of starting this year after not playing all year.”

The loss left the Jets in familiar, frustrating territory. They were close, like they have been in most games this year, but lost again. Some players were clearly frustrated after another game like this, tired of hearing the same refrain of how competitive they had been. “Being competitive is winning ballgames. That ain’t happening,” wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said. “I don’t know how long we’re going to say, ‘Well, we’re in the game.’ You feel me?”

The Jets opened the game aggressively, calling an onside kick that was recovered by rookie Marcus Maye. The bold call gave the Jets some early momentum, but they failed to capitalize on it. Petty hit Robby Anderson for what appeared to be a 38-yard gain to the Chargers’ 2-yard line, but was penalized for offensive pass interference, wiping out the play. They ended up punting.

The Jets’ defense had a strong outing against Philip Rivers and the Chargers, who improved to 8-7 and kept their playoff hopes alive. The game was scoreless until midway through the second quarter, when Rivers connected with veteran tight end Antonio Gates for a 3-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Gates had a big day, catching six passes for 81 yards and the touchdown. “It’s frustrating, man,” said rookie safety Jamal Adams, who got beat for the touchdown. “We had opportunities to win the game. On defense, we left a lot of plays out there as far as making plays on the ball. We’ve got to learn to close out the game no matter the circumstance.” The Jets were terrible on third downs — going 3-for-14. The only bright spot for the offense was running back Bilal Powell, who had 145 yards rushing on 19 carries. He broke a 57-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to tie the game at 7-7. But the Chargers answered right back with a 75-yard drive on eight plays, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Melvin Gordon to give Los Angeles a 14-7 lead.

The Jets had a chance late in the game to tie it up after a Joey Bosa roughing-thepasser penalty put the ball at the Chargers’ 20. But Petty failed to hit Anderson on fourth-and-7, sailing a pass way inside from his receiver.

For the second straight week, the Jets were left to talk about how promising the future is with this dismal season now coming to an end.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” linebacker Jordan Jenkins said. “People say it’s the same old Jets, same old Jets. We’re not the same old Jets. This is the new Jets team. We care about one another. We care about the future of this program.”

The Jets finished 4-4 this year at home. All four of the losses were by fewer than 10 points. There is optimism in the locker room despite the results.

“This is a good football team,” cornerback Morris Claiborne said. “I know people from the outside looking in, you can look in and look at this football team and tell what type of team we have. We’ve got a good football team. Unfortunately, we’ve been having some tough breaks here and there, but if this team keeps fighting the way they’re fighting and keeps the will that they have to continue to get better each and every day, I feel like the sky’s the limit. This is a good football team — a young, good football team at that.”