NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ This one would have really hurt the Jets if they were playing for something. But they showed why this is another lost season for the stumbling franchise.
The Jets squandered leads of 16-0 and 19-6 and lost to the Titans, 26-22, Sunday at Nissan Stadium. Corey Davis' 11-yard touchdown catch from Marcus Mariota with 36 seconds left sent the Jets (3-9) to their sixth consecutive loss.
Making matters worse is these are moments when rookie quarterback Sam Darnold could be developing, but he missed his third straight game because of a strained right foot. He could return next week at Buffalo.
That put Josh McCown as the starter for the third straight game. McCown got the Jets into the red zone three times but they never got in the end zone. McCown completed 17 of 30 with 128 yards and an interception.
Jason Myers made all five of his field-goal tries to make up most of the Jets' scoring. Their lone touchdown came on Trumaine Johnson's pick-6 in the first quarter that made the score 10-0. But the Jets showed they don't know how to play with leads. They haven't had many lately.
Mariota was 20-for-35 for 282 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Titans (6-6).
On the winning drive, the Jets had two costly penalties. Jordan Jenkins was called for illegal use of the hands on a play that ended with a sack. Then Johnson was whistled for a facemask after a long Mariota run. It gave the Titans the ball on the Jets' 39. Three plays later, Davis got in the end zone.
The Jets had one last chance. But after McCown completed a 20-yard pass to Chris Herndon, he was picked off by Malcolm Butler.
Earlier, the Jets had a chance to kill clock, up 22-16 with 3:13 left. Isaiah Crowell ran for 8 yards on first down. Then they got a first down because the Titans had 12 men on the field on second-and-2. But the Jets went nowhere on fourth-and-5 and gave the ball back with 1:54 remaining.
The Jets got off to a great start _ especially by their standards. Myers kicked a 54-yard field goal on the Jets' first drive, and then their defense came up with the play they've been craving for weeks.
Johnson picked off Mariota for the Jets' first takeaway in six games and took it 31 yards for the touchdown. Myers' extra point made it 10-0 with 7:59 left in the first quarter. The Jets had tied an NFL record by going five games without forcing a turnover.
The Jets moved the ball the next time they got it, getting into the red zone. But they gained only 2 yards and had to settle for Myers' 34-yard field goal, which made it 13-0.
The Jets' red-zone struggles continued after a big special-teams play. Linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis blocked a punt and recovered it on the Titans' 18, and this time, the offense lost yardage. The Jets committed a holding penalty, had a 4-yard loss and two running plays that resulted in 7 yards.
Once again, the Jets had to rely on Myers, whose 43-yard field goal gave the Jets a 16-0 advantage with 2:51 remaining in the half.
The defense finally cracked late on the Titans' next series. They were called for offsides on third-and-1, allowed a 22-yard reception to Davis and let Mariota scramble for a 22-yard gain. Mariota threw to tight end Anthony Firkser for a 12-yard TD with 57 seconds left. The score stayed 16-6 because lineman Henry Anderson blocked Ryan Succop's extra-point attempt.
The Jets' offense continued to sputter after halftime. Andre Roberts took the second-half kickoff 59 yards to the Titans' 48, but the Jets advanced only 2 yards and punted.
Later in the third, Crowell had back-to-back runs of 16 and 27 yards to put the Jets on Tennessee's 17. After the Jets gave up back-to-back sacks and McCown threw incomplete, Myers delivered from 39 yards to make it 19-6.
The Titans faced little resistance when they got the ball back, going 75 yards in six plays, capped by Derrick Henry's 1-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 19-13.
The Jets drove the ball deep into the Titans' territory on their next possession, getting to the 21. They stalled there but went ahead 22-13 on Myers' fifth field goal.
