Today was just not a good showing by the Jets. The Jaguars absolutely manhandled us. Trevor Lawrence had himself a stress-free Sunday afternoon, especially in the first half. And while I understand it was Brady Cook’s first career start, I still expected a more competitive showing from the team as a whole. Apparently, that was asking for too much.

There was a brief moment of hope after Cook threw his first career touchdown pass—a legitimately well-run drive—but, of course, nothing was built off it. Because why would it be? Keeping momentum is not really our thing.

Once again, a team dog-walked us down the field on the opening drive for a touchdown. I mean, it was effortless. And naturally, the Jets offense followed that up with a three-and-out, just to let everyone know we were locked in and ready to go. While the defense didn’t start well, the offense matching that energy has become a tradition at this point. Jacksonville got the ball back and scored again, and just like that we were down 14–0 on their first two drives. Blink and you missed it.

Then—shockingly—there was a spark. Brady Cook led a clean, efficient drive and threw his first career touchdown pass to AD Mitchell. For a second, I thought, maybe we’ve got something here. That thought lasted about as long as it took Jacksonville to get the ball back and score again. 21–7. Hope officially canceled.

After that, the teams traded punts and field goals, making it 24–10. Then Jacksonville capped off the first half with yet another touchdown, sending the Jets into halftime down 31–10. At this point, it felt less like a football game and more like a live practice session for the Jaguars’ offense.

The Jets did get the ball first to start the second half, and a touchdown would’ve gone a long way toward making things interesting. Instead, we settled for a field goal—because settling is kind of our brand. Points are points, but unfortunately your defense has to stop someone at some point. That didn’t happen. Jacksonville got the ball and picked up right where they left off, scoring another touchdown. That was the moment I officially switched from “maybe?” to “yeah, this is over.”

The Jets scored again early in the fourth to make it 41–20—don’t worry, we had them right where we wanted them. Jacksonville responded by immediately going down the field and scoring again, because of course they did. That made it 48–20, which thankfully ended the scoring. The Jets then threw two more interceptions in the fourth quarter, giving Cook three on the day. A true “welcome to the NFL” moment.

Credit where it’s due: Jacksonville looked really good. Trevor Lawrence is clearly hitting his stride, and that offense is clicking. They’re going to be a tough out in the playoffs. It’d be really interesting to see how they’d look right now with Travis Hunter nearing the end of his rookie year—assuming he comes back next season and keeps balling.

As for the Jets, hopefully we rebound next week and at least look like a competitive football team. Even if we don’t win, I’d just like to avoid getting embarrassed. And while, yes, we got a king’s ransom for a corner, games like today are a reminder of why trading arguably the best corner in the league might not be the best idea—but hey, what do I know?

We’ll try again next week. As always.

– Jett Garden