How precarious is the Jets' quarterback situation heading into the regular season? Newly anointed starter Josh McCown barely got halfway through the first quarter of Thursday night's preseason finale before taking a hard shot to his midsection and taking himself out of the game.
Could this be? Could a franchise so used to calamity be in for yet another figurative shot to the gut? Would there be no mercy for a team already hanging on by its fingernails even before the start of the season?
Fortunately for the 38-year-old quarterback, he was spared from the anguish that has befallen so many others to wear a Jets uniform. This time, anyway.
He missed only one play and returned to lead the Jets to a first-quarter field goal and a 3-0 lead against the Eagles. Crisis averted at the end of what turned into an unconventional preseason, even if the end result was what we expected all along.
For McCown, it was a circuitous journey to the starting job. After starting the offseason and training camp as the No. 1 quarterback, he eventually took a back seat so the coaches could get a more definitive read about whether Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty should be considered as the Week 1 quarterback. The evaluation process was tricky, though, and it meant that McCown wouldn't get the usual dose of reps with the first-team offense in preseason games.
Until Thursday night's game, McCown had played only one series _ the first one in the first preseason game against the Titans. It was an effortless touchdown drive by the 14-year NFL veteran, but it would be his final appearance in a game until this week, when coach Todd Bowles announced that McCown would be his starter heading into the season.
Starters rarely play in the final regular-season game, but in this case, McCown needed the work in advance of the regular-season opener Sept. 10 in Buffalo. It was only two series with the starting offense, but that would have to do. McCown wound up 6-for-8 for 57 yards and a 94.3 rating.
Earlier in the week, upon being named the starter, McCown was somewhat subdued, given the good news. He was happy to have the job but also mindful of what was really important at that moment: the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.
"You look at what's going on in my home state, back home in Texas," he said. "Just looking at people displaced and just what people are going through. It makes you thankful, let alone to get an opportunity at this age to be an opening day starter. Just humbled and thankful for this opportunity. I look forward to making the most of it."
McCown hopes to last a good long while as the starter, but at his age and with a history of nagging injuries, it's anyone's guess how far into the season he can get. The shot he took when linebacker Joe Walker got to him Thursday night was another reminder of just how fragile his situation can be. It also was another reminder that despite having lost out on the initial chance to be the starter, Hackenberg and Petty likely will see time under center this season.
Perhaps a lot of time.
But for now, it's McCown's team. Even if the process of getting here wasn't in a straight line.
"Coach Bowles had a plan going back to the spring to now," he said. "I think that's the key. Every step of the way, we understood what was going on. It went exactly how coach Bowles had it thought out in his mind, and as long as he's got a vision for that, I appreciate that."
Bowles reasoned that McCown gives the Jets the best chance to win, and he's right about that. Even with a rebuilt roster and a cast of new players, especially on offense, the idea is to win as many games as you can _ damn the consequences that might come next year in the draft.
First things first, and that's playing to win, something McCown is eager to do. After a brief scare, his chance is here.
