Certainly not Rodgers as Jets go to 4th QB and come up empty

An ugly defensive battle on a cloudy, rainy Sunday at MetLife Stadium resulted in another change at quarterback for the Jets, who turned to Trevor Siemian down the stretch in their 13-8 loss to the Falcons.

The fifth consecutive loss was catastrophic for the 4-8 Jets’ playoff hopes. Aaron Rodgers was hoping for a possible return this season if the Jets were in playoff contention. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case, with the Jets 15th in the AFC with five games remaining.

Rodgers said last week that a return was unlikely if the Jets were not in the postseason hunt. Now, the team is just searching for answers to get another victory. Gang Green’s last win came against the Giants on Oct. 29.

Tim Boyle, who had replaced Zach Wilson at quarterback after he was benched before last week’s game against Miami on Black Friday, completed 14-of-25 passes for 148 yards and an interception on Sunday. However, with the game on the line with 13:08 left in the fourth quarter and the Jets down, 138, Siemian replaced Boyle at quarterback.

“I didn’t make enough plays,” Boyle said. “I thought I was seeing it good again, made a couple of plays downfield. I could have been way more aggressive, and there were some throws that I wanted back.

“Clearly, didn’t get the job done or score enough points.”

Siemian was brought up to the active roster before the Jets’ loss to the Dolphins, and many Jets fans applauded the move to turn to him late against the Falcons. But Siemian completed only 5-of-13 passes for 66 yards and was sacked three times.

Robert Saleh said he hasn’t decided who will be the starting quarterback next week.

“Just trying to spark the offense,” Saleh said. “I’m not there yet in regards to next week.”

With 1:53 left in the game and the ball on the seven-yard line, the Jets had one final opportunity to get into the end zone. But Siemian’s pass to Xavier Gipson on fourth and 17 fell incomplete.

With 5:23 remaining, Siemian also had a chance to score a late touchdown, but he was stripped by safety Richie Grant, and linebacker Andre Smith Jr. recovered it with 2:52 left.

“You can’t put the ball on the ground,” Siemian said. “The last one, it was fourth down, so I’m trying to do something and get the ball up the field, but I felt like I had the ball on the ground too many times and a couple of times got hit as I was throwing it.

“But that’s my job to take care of the ball.” Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder also struggled, completing 12-of-27 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. That 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end McCole Pruitt to go up, 7-2, in the second quarter proved to be the difference in the game. This was set up when Dee Alford recovered Dalvin Cook’s fumble with 13:19 left before halftime.

Greg Zuerlein and Younghoe Koo converted two field goals each on a windy, rainy day.

Cook, who entered Sunday’s game as questionable (shoulder), led the Jets in rushing with 35 yards on nine carries. The Jets and the Falcons combined for 16 punts.

The Jets’ lack of offense since Rodgers’ Achilles injury has continued to be the story this season, and it was once again Sunday. Gang Green has scored 10 offensive touchdowns in 12 games. The team is also last in thirddown conversion percentage and red-zone touchdowns.

The Jets inserted Boyle hoping to get a boost, but that never happened. He missed open receivers on several occasions. He also checked the ball down to running backs a lot on third downs, causing frustration among Jets fans, with many of them booing him when the team came off the field.

Sunday marked the third consecutive year the Jets used four quarterbacks during the season (Rodgers, Wilson, Boyle and Siemian]. Last season, Wilson, Joe Flacco, Mike White and Chris Streveler all took snaps under center for the Jets.

The Jets were 2-for-15 on third downs and failed to find the end zone on their only trip inside the Falcons’ 20-yard line. The Jets struggled to run the football without a passing attack. Gang Green only had 62 rushing yards, with the Falcons often loading the box with seven or eight players.

The Jets have failed to register a touchdown in three of their last five games. The only time the Jets have scored more than one touchdown this season was during their 23-20 loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 1.

“I’m confident in my ability,” Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “I’m confident in our guys and I think everybody in our room would say the same.

“It’s tough. It’s tough. We have to fix it.” Turnovers and penalties have continued to be an issue during the five-game losing streak. Saleh has consistently said the team needed to eliminate the self-inflicted wounds, but that didn’t happen against the Falcons.

Gang Green turned the ball over three times and had more penalties in the first half (eight) than first downs (six). On one drive, the Jets were called for three penalties, which led to a 22-yard field goal by Koo to end the first half.

The Jets finished with 11 penalties for 71 yards compared to six penalties for 55 yards for the Falcons.

“We are searching,” Saleh said. “Felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities with potentially explosive (plays) and possible touchdowns on the field today. We have to find a way to take advantage when we have those opportunities.”

One issue the Jets did clean up was their rushing defense. Gang Green allowed 90 yards on the ground. They ranked 31st in the league entering the game.