Loss leaves Adams in all sorts of pain

CINCINNATI — This Jets loss drove Jamal Adams to tears.

The Jets safety and team leader was as emotional after the Jets’ lackluster and insulting 22-6 loss to the Bengals on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium as he’s been after any game this season, speaking in hushed tones and with reddened eyes.

The loss, the team’s worst of the season based on the fact it had won the previous three and that the Bengals entered 0-11, hurt Adams deeply. So, too, did an injury to his left foot/ankle area that he said occurred on the first defensive series of the game.

Though he never left the game and Jets coach Adam Gase didn’t mention him among the injured players in his postgame press conference, Adams walked out of the losers’ locker room wearing a protective boot on his left foot.

“A lot of mixed emotions right now,’’ Adams sai d. “I’m more upset at the fact that I feel like I let the team down. Obviously, a freak accident happened. I couldn’t perform as myself. I’m really upset that we fell short. That’s the ultimate goal. It’s not about me, it’s about this team. We didn’t play well … well enough to get the win. We’ve got to give Cincinnati credit. “Just a lot of frustration right now.’’ Adams, who’s been a terror on defense in recent weeks, leading the team with 6.5 sacks this season, had his quietest production of the season Sunday, credited with only a single assisted tackle. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams sent him on a handful of blitzes, but Adams never got close to touching Andy Dalton.

Asked if he knew what the injury was, Adams said, “I’m still trying to f igure those things out.’’

Asked if he feared it might cause him to miss a game or more, he said, “I don’t know.’’

Asked if he’s going to get an MRI exam Monday, he said, “I don’t know.’’

“I couldn’t perform,’’ Adams said, with his voice cracking. “I felt like if I just shut it down, I was letting my teammates down and I couldn’t do that. Man, I did what I could. I don’t think I could affect the game like I wanted to, but I held my own. I was in a lot of pain, but I couldn’t let my buddies down.

“I’m more upset that we lost, man. I’ll be all right. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. It’s just adversity. We’ll figure it out.’’

Adams could not dispute that this was a painful setback for the Jets.

“Yeah, it’s tough,” he said, “But like I said at the beginning of the week, it doesn’t matter the record. Any NFL team can be beat. You got to give credit to those guys. We’ve got to play better. We didn’t play well enough as a team, and we’ve got to get better from it.’’