Fall to 0-9 as Patriots boot ’em at the gun

Adam Gase was poised to deliver a figurative middle finger to the Tank for Trevor brigade before the Jets crumbled down the stretch to remind everyone they are historically horrific.

Gang Green blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 30-27 loss to the Patriots on Monday night that let the world know that this team lives by one undeniable credo: You play to lose the game.

Nick Folk drilled a 51-yard field goal at the final gun to complete a stunning fourthquarter comeback that dropped the Jets to 0-9 for the first time in their 61year history.

Joe Flacco hopped into the hot tub time machine for three quarters before turning into a pumpkin before midnight. The only winless team in the

NFL remained in prime position to get Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the

No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft.

In so many ways, the Patriots (3-5) saved the Jets from themselves.

For Jets fans that rallied around the common cause to go O-for 2020 with the hope of landing the generational talent, that dream still remained alive.

“They played their ass off,” said Gase, who dropped to 7-18 as the Jets head coach. “We’re just not finding ways to win.”

Gase was hoping to deliver a parting gift to those who mocked him for his repeated failures.

And in a bizarre way he did just that.

The Daily News learned that Gase — not Dowell Loggains — dialed up Flacco’s deep heave into double coverage with just under six minutes left that was picked off by J.C. Jackson and set the stage for Gang Green’s choke job.

“It hurts,” Gase said.

The Jets went home losers yet again thanks to that offensive blunder and shaky defense down the stretch. Pierre Desir’s laughable effort on Damiere Byrd’s 31yard catch and run on the Patriots’ game-tying drive should be shown by high school football coaches from coast to coast. Desir played soft coverage and then loafed after the receiver as he ran to the 3-yard line. Cam Newton punched it in three plays later to tie the game at 20-apiece with 1:57 left.

Flacco & Co. went three-andout on the next drive to set up Folk’s heroics. The Jets had 319 total yards through three quarter before managing a grand total of three yards on four plays in the final quarter.

“It’s tough pill to swallow,” Jamison Crowder said. “We moved the football really well for three quarters… To give it up at the end is a tough pill to swallow for sure.”

It was a textbook gag job.

“It definitely is disappointing and guys’ emotions are running high,” said Flacco, who went 18 for 25 for 262 yards and 128.7 passer rating.

The Jets entered the bye week with unofficially a billion questions, including the biggest — and most obvious — one: Why is Adam Gase still the HC of the NYJ?

There’s no legitimate reason not to make a change now that the Jets have become something more pathetic than a laughingstock.

Flacco was elite for three quarters in relief of the injured Sam Darnold, making one pinpoint pass after another until the fourth quarter.

A sluggish Jets offense came to life before it fell apart so quickly.

It erased all the good from the first three quarters that helped the Jets build a 20-10 lead entering the final 15 minutes.

Gang Green snapped a 19-drive stretch without scoring a touchdown by finding the end zone three times on four drives bridging both halves. The Jets looked nothing like the club that managed a season-low seven offensive touchdowns in the first eight games.

The Patriots capped a 13-play drive to start the second half with Rex Burkhead’s one-yard touchdown run that cut into Gang Green’s 10-point halftime lead.

Flacco simply wouldn’t be denied on this night. He answered with his third touchdown — and second to Breshad Perriman — on the ensuing drive to push the lead to 27-17 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. The Patriots cut into that lead on Folk’s 29-yard field goal with six minutes left in regulation before Flacco made his biggest mistake.

The veteran quarterback’s deep pass intended for Denzel Mims on the first play of the ensuing drive was picked off by Jackson.

The Jets seemingly caught a break a couple plays later when Newton overthrew a wide-open Jakobi Meyers on what should have been a 72-yard touchdown. Gang Green returned the favor when Bless Austin’s holding penalty on third down gave New England new life. The Patriots ultimately capitalized on Newton’s second rushing score of the night.

Gang Green scored more points in the first half than they had in the previous three games. Everything was going right. Then, the Jets turned back into the Jets. On the bright side, the tank rolls on.