SAN DIEGO — It seems like a deck chair off the Titanic in terms of whether it would have made a difference, but there was one moment in Sunday’s pathetic 31-0 loss to the Chargers when the Jets looked like they might have a chance to right a game that was going so wrong.
The Chargers were about to go up 14-0 — something they would do later anyway — when their quarterback, Philip Rivers, tried to force a 22-yard scoring pass into receiver Keenan Allen.
Jets journeyman Phillip Adams, the fifth of five cornerbacks on the depth chart, stepped in and beat Allen to the ball, making an interception in the end zone (the Jets’ first interception of the season) with 12:05 remaining in the game.
That gave the Jets the ball on the 20-yard line and it gave them a chance to settle the game down.
That deep breath lasted one play, with running back Chris Johnson fumbling away the ball on the next play from scrimmage.
That turned out to be the Jets’ last stand — not that they had a lot to stand on anyway with Rivers picking apart their porous secondary as if he was in a 7-on-7 drill.
“At the time, we were down 7-0; we had been getting our tails kicked, but we were hanging in there,’’ coach Rex Ryan said of the Adams interception. “When we got the ball back I thought we had the momentum going our way … and we turn it right back over.’’
The big plays kept on coming from the Chargers’ passing attack against a Jets secondary that probably hasn’t been this badly exposed since the Raiders matched Hall of Fame receiver Tim Brown on rookie Vance Joseph, a college quarterback converted to corner, on a nationally televised game during the Rich Kotite era in 1995.
Rivers, as if he was playing a video game, pushed every right button.
The big plays began on the Chargers’ first possession when Rivers connected with Malcolm Floyd for 49 yards with cornerback Darrin Walls — looking like he was running “serpentine’’ on the old “In-Laws’’ movie, not even looking for the ball.
Five plays later it was 7-0 San Diego.
Then there was Chargers tight end Antonio Gates toying with Walls and Kyle Wilson on a 28-yard catch and run on third down. Three plays later, on another third down, Rivers connected with Eddie Royal for 32 yards with Wilson beaten again.
Later in the first half it was Chargers rookie running back Branden Oliver gaining 50 yards on a catch and run on which there wasn’t a Jets defender within four states of him, standing along in the right flat.
Moments later, Oliver sliced through the middle of the Jets No. 1-ranked run defense for a 15-yard touchdown — the first of his career — and a 21-0 halftime lead.
Other than Adams’ interception, it was a hot mess.
Asked if he thought the pick might change the momentum of the game, Adams said, “You definitely hope it will.’’
“I saw the ball in the air, turned around and got it,’’ Adams said. “[Allen] likes to go up for the ball. He is aggressive when he gets up in the air. I had to snatch it from him, because he was going to grab it out of my hand.’’
Ryan called the Adams play “probably the only good thing there was in that game.’’
“I put a lot on Phillip’s plate,’’ Ryan said. “He was backing up both corners, nickel, everything. He was running every snap and also playing special teams. That’s tough on a young man. I was proud of the way he played.’’
