Darnold not concerned with limp

CINCINNATI — Sam Darnold had a noticeable limp late in the fourth quarter, but the Jets quarterback insisted after the 22-6 loss to the Bengals that he is fine.

“I just got stepped on, I guess,” Darnold said. “I honestly don’t even really know what happened. I’m not concerned at all.”

Darnold missed three games with a foot sprain last year, but that was his right foot, and Sunday’s injury appeared to be his left foot or ankle.

It was a nondescript game for Darnold after he played one of his best games last week against the Raiders. He was not great, but he did not make any critical errors, either. He finished with no touchdowns and no turnovers.

“It sucks,” Darnold said. “It’s just like any other game, though. When you lose, it’s not fun. We’re just going to watch the tape tomorrow and try to get better from this and learn from our mistakes.”

Jets coach Adam Gase and many players said they did not think the team came out flat or that they took the 0-11 Bengals lightly. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas did say he thought the team lacked attention to detail in instances.

“We came out on the offensive side of the ball and drove down, but we only got three points,” Thomas said. “I wouldn’t say we were flat, but I would say the alertness should be way higher than what it was.”

The Jets had terrible field position for much of the day. They started 10 of their 11 drives at their own 25 or worse. They had four possessions that began at or inside their own 10.

“We never flipped the field,” Gase said. “We stayed backed up and created short fields for them.”