Petty Era arrives for Jets

DENVER — The Bryce Petty Era is about to begin.

Barring some sort of unforeseen miracle that would allow Jets starting quarterback Josh McCown to play with the broken left hand he suffered in Sunday’s 23-0 loss to the Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Petty will start against the Saints next Sunday in New Orleans.

Petty, in his third season, entered the game with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter after McCown took a hit from Broncos linebacker Shane Ray on a throw to running back Matt Forte. The Jets already were trailing 20-0.

Largely because of a porous offensive line, he was as ineffective in relief as McCown was starting. After McCown finshed 6-of-12 for 46 yards and an interception, Petty was 2-of-9 for 14 yards, though the Jets coaching staff raised the white flag and ran the ball rather than risk Petty also getting hurt.

“The game was already out of reach,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “He was getting hit some — some of it was rust and some of it was missed timing. When you don’t play all year and then you go in there, sometimes you [struggle].”

Petty hasn’t played since the preseason, during which he showed some progress.

After the game, Petty declared himself “ready to go.”

“That’s the toughest part about being a backup — limited reps,’’ he said. “Now, [I’ll] get some reps and hopefully fix the things I’m feeling need to be fixed. [I] will go in there [like] I am the starter and combat that with physical reps.”