Jets eliminated from playoff contention in lifeless loss to Seahawks

SEATTLE — Unhappy New Year.

The Jets dropped the ball on New Year’s Day and were eliminated from playoff contention for the 12th consecutive season.

Needing a win to keep their slim playoff chances alive, they couldn’t do anything right Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field and fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 23-6. It was their fifth straight defeat and extended the NFL’s longest active playoff drought.

“It stings big-time right now,” Robert Saleh said.

New year, same result. But this is a major collapse.

The Jets were 7-4 heading into December and in control of their own destiny, but they haven’t won since then and fell to 7-9. Their season will end next week in Miami.

Even if the Jets had won, they would have needed help to reach the playoffs. They would have had to beat the Dolphins (8-8) and hope that Buffalo beats New England (8-8), but they came up small in the franchise’s biggest game in seven years.

“It [stinks],” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “We feel [expletive] as players. No one’s happy about it. I feel for the fans. I feel for everybody. We wanted this too. We just didn’t play well enough to make it happen.

“It hurts. It [stinks]. You’re not going to get another opportunity to change that until next season, which makes it even [worse].”

The Jets didn’t look prepared to play a game of this magnitude and suffered a total beatdown. Their defense gave up numerous explosive plays and allowed points on Seattle’s first three drives. The offense looked stuck in the mud all day.

The return of Mike White, who missed the previous two games with fractured ribs, did nothing to help this struggling unit. They have gone two consecutive games without a touchdown.

White wasn’t sharp at all in a huge spot. He committed three turnovers and missed on a lot of throws.

The Jets’ quarterback position is wide open. Zach Wilson has been benched twice and was inactive Sunday. This was a chance for White to help his chances, and he threw it away.

White was 23-for-46 for 240 yards, threw two interceptions and fumbled once. The Jets were held scoreless in the second half, and their only points came from two field goals by Greg Zuerlein.

A dejected White said his ribs were not a factor.

“There’s a standard that those guys [in the locker room] deserve,” he said. “I did not live up to that standard or play to that standard today.”

No one did for the Jets, who ran for 76 yards overall — minus-1 in the second half — against the 31st-ranked run defense.

Former Jets quarterback Geno Smith completed 18 of 29 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie running back Kenneth Walker carried the ball 23 times for 133 yards.

Things were ugly for the Jets right from the beginning.

On the first play from scrimmage, Walker sprinted outside and down the left sideline for 60 yards to the Jets’ 13. Two plays later, Smith hit tight end Colby Parkinson for a 12-yard touchdown.

The Jets drove into Seattle territory on the ensuing possession, but White was intercepted on third down. He forced a pass into double coverage and was picked off at the 9 by Quandre Diggs, who returned it to Seattle’s 37.

The Seahawks turned that takeaway into points on Jason Myers’ 25-yard field goal.

The Jets drove into Seattle territory again on their next possession, but the drive stalled at the 26. They settled for Zuerlein’s 44-yard field goal, which made it 10-3.

The defense got gashed again on the ensuing possession after Bryce Huff was flagged for offsides on third down. It extended the drive, and three plays later, Smith tossed a shovel pass to DeeJay Dallas that turned into a 41-yard gain to the Jets’ 7.

On second down, Smith hit tight end Tyler Mabry for the 7-yard touchdown. It was the first NFL catch for Mabry, who was just elevated from the practice squad, and put the Jets in a two-touchdown hole.

“We made too many mistakes in that first quarter in all three phases to give ourselves a chance,” Saleh said. “It’s disappointing.”

The Jets hurt themselves in the first half. Duane Brown was flagged for a false start on first down from Seattle’s 13. White was sacked on third down, leading to a 44-yard field goal by Zuerlein that made it 17-6.

Later in the half, Saleh went for it on fourth-and-4 from Seattle’s 38 and White’s pass bounced off Garrett Wilson’s hands.

“The one thing I keep coming back to for the implications of this football game is that we just got flat at times,” Conklin said.

The Jets got nothing going offensively in the second half. They went three-and-out on three consecutive drives and generated only two first downs until the final series, which ended with White flat on his back after being sacked.

“It stings. It’s tough. It’s gut-wrenching — it’s all of the above,” he said. “We don’t care that we’re playing meaningful games. Now we need to win meaningful games.”

Maybe next year.

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.