JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — At the end of a 48-20 dismantling, this probably equates to a deck chair tossed off the Titanic or a pimple on the butt of a whale.
But, if there were any such thing as a turning point in the Jets’ blowout loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, it was when Isaiah Williams’ 50-yard punt return for an apparent touchdown was nullified by an illegal blocking penalty out of bounds by Tre Brown.
Had the TD stood, the Jets would have cut the Jaguars’ lead to 21-14 with nine minutes remaining in the first half.
But the return, which would have been his third TD return of the season and second in as many games, was erased.
“All I saw was green grass,” Williams said. “That’s part of football, though, penalties, stuff like that. It sucks when you score a touchdown, for sure. When I went to the sideline, I saw the refs talking, and I’m just like, ‘Man, please be on the other team.’ ”
It wasn’t because Brown, a defensive back who’d just been signed to the active roster with the secondary so thin because of injuries, blocked the Jags gunner when they were out of bounds.
Afterward, Brown was totally accountable.
“I’ve got to be better,” Brown told The Post. “I’ve got to recognize that I was out of bounds. I was trying to be physical, give my guys a chance. But I’ve got to be aware of where my feet are at. It was a pretty big moment in the game, a big momentum change.”
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn agreed.
“It’s always difficult when you have a play of that magnitude happen because those returns give a jolt to the whole team,” Glenn said. “It’s a huge momentum shift at that time.”
Jets rookie free agent QB Brady Cook handled himself well in his first NFL start, completing 22-of-32 for 176 yards, a TD and three INTs.
He started the game completing his first six passes and threw his first NFL TD when he connected with Adonai Mitchell to cut the Jaguars’ lead to 14-7 at the time.
Cook’s family in the stands was caught on camera celebrating wildly, and Mitchell retrieved the ball from an official’s arms and brought it to Cook. It was a cool moment in an otherwise dreadful day for the Jets.
“I thought Brady did some good things, but again, he was in a bad situation,’’ Glenn said, referring to the poor performance of the defense.
“It was a blast,” Cook said of his first start. “It was fun. It’s a game I love, and it was an honor to take the field as a Jet. I definitely thought we strung together some good drives in that first half. We just need to sustain it.”
He called the TD “an incredible moment” for him.
“AD ran a great route, got his head around it, made a great catch,” he said. “That’s a moment I won’t forget.’’
Asked about the ball, Cook said, “I did forget about the ball. Shoutout to AD. That’s the type of guy he is. He’s selfless. He was looking out for me, and the ball is safe.”
He was just the second rookie undrafted free agent to start a game at quarterback for the Jets, joining Bill Demory in 1973.
The Jets’ futility streak of consecutive games without an INT now has reached 14 games, equalling an NFL record held by the 2024 49ers.
The Jets already owned the record for most consecutive games to start a season without an INT at 13 before Sunday. Entering the game, there had been a total of 298 INTs in the league. Five of those came from Jaguars LB Devin Lloyd.
Jets CB Brandon Stephens did force a fumble late in the game, just the second turnover the Jets defense has forced all season. It was Stephens’ first career forced fumble.
Jets RB Isaiah Davis rushed for his first TD of the season and the second of his career, scoring from 24 yards out. He led the Jets with 58 yards on nine carries.
Jets K Nick Folk continues to be almost perfect, kicking field goals of 41 and 51 yards. The 51-yarder was his 200th career field goal as a Jet.
Folk now is just the second Jet all-time to record 200-plus field goals with the team, joining Pat Leahy (304). He has 428 career field goals and is just eight field goals away from entering the top 10 all time in NFL history, tying Jason Elam and Sebastian Janikowski.
