Grading the Jets’ 27-6 loss to the Chargers on Monday night.

Offense

The Jets’ offense was abysmal on Monday night. They padded their yardage stats at the end of the game, but the only thing that mattered was zero touchdowns. QB Zach Wilson (33 of 49, 263 yards, 80.6 rating, two fumbles) was inept for most of the game. The offense went 3-for-17 on third down and 0-for-2 in the red zone, continuing their season-long struggles with situational football. The offensive line was horrendous, allowing eight sacks. WR Garrett Wilson had a fumble. WR Allen Lazard committed three penalties and had a drop. It was a poor performance across the board.

Grade: F

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You close your eyes and allow the imagination to run wild:

Look! It’s Aaron Rodgers walking to the home pregame locker room without a limp and without the use of a cart.

Look! It’s Aaron Rodgers launching bombs on the field before Jets-Chargers.

And then one of these days, here comes Aaron Rodgers, trotting into the Jets’ huddle, a marvel to modern science, uplifting a franchise desperate to end its 12-year playoff drought.

For all of Jetkind, it is a dream worth dreaming.

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In the moment, when the ball bounced on the MetLife Stadium turf, it was a sequence that could’ve sparked something — the needed turnover, the needed field-position edge, anything — until the Jets’ offense stalled again.

Will McDonald IV had beaten his man and tore toward Justin Herbert as the Chargers’ quarterback tried to escape the pocket, knocking the ball out while also dropping Herbert.

It bounced once before Herbert fell on it.

The Chargers (4-4) added another field goal 12 plays later, which continued adding to the lead that turned into a 27-6 victory against the Jets (4-4) on Monday night.

McDonald’s sack and forced fumble marked the latest glimpse of the Jets’ effective pass rush against Herbert and the Chargers’ offensive line.

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There wasn’t going to be anything resembling a miracle this time. Turns out, relying on pixie dust and the kindness of strangers is an officially unsustainable way to win games in the NFL. Turns out sometimes the other guys — even if the other guys have a history of losing un-lose-able games — aren’t inclined to help.

And simply expose you for what you are.

Not ready for prime time.

And not ready to be discussed with remote seriousness for the AFC playoff picture. Not right now. Maybe not ever.

Look, the Jets’ season didn’t end Monday night, when the Chargers jumped on them early and then simply let them slip and slither in the mud whenever they had the ball. The final score was 27-6, but it sure felt worse than that. No, the season didn’t end.

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The best throws by a Jets quarterback on Monday night came about two hours before the game started when a recovering Aaron Rodgers was launching 50-yard passes during warm-ups.

Unfortunately for the Jets, Rodgers then donned a headset and Zach Wilson played the game at MetLife Stadium.

Wilson had a miserable night and the Jets did not score a touchdown in a 27-6 loss to the Chargers that drops them to 4-4 this season and raises doubts about whether this team can really make a playoff run.

The only encouraging sign offensively was Rodgers launching those passes in warm-ups and walking to the locker room rather than taking a cart.

The Jets have to be wondering if Rodgers on one leg would be better than Wilson right now.

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The Chargers only needed one play to score a touchdown and take a three-touchdown lead.

Austin Ekeler scored his second touchdown of the game on a 2-yard rush.

Khalil Mack knocked the ball out of Zach Wilson's hand, and Alohi Gilman nearly turned the fumble into a touchdown.

The Chargers will take over on the Jets' 2-yard line, with 3:28 left in the fourth quarter and having an excellent chance to build on their lead.

Zach Wilson tried to escape Tuli Tuipulotu, but his attempt took him backwards by 15 yards and turned a third-and-12 into a fourth-and-impossible.

The Jets, still trailing by 14, needed to punt with just 6:49 left.

The drive might’ve had a different outcome had Keenan Allen not made an acrobatic catch, falling backward while snagging a Justin Herbert pass and managing to stay inbounds.

But that 23-yard pass pushed the ball into Jets territory, and the Chargers’ drive ended with Cameron Dicker’s 38-yard field goal to make it a 20-6 lead with 9:18 left in the fourth quarter. Their drive took 7:31 off the clock, lasting 16 plays and traveling 68 yards.

With the Jets still trailing by 11 points, the Chargers will open the fourth quarter facing a key third-and-9 from their own 25-yard line.

Will McDonald recorded a key sack earlier in the drive that forced a fumble, but Justin Herbert recovered the ball to keep possession.

Even with a third-and-3 from the Chargers 32-yard line, the Jets couldn’t find a way to extend their drive.

Jeremy Ruckert was called for a false start penalty and then Zach Wilson was sacked by Joey Bosa, which forced another punt from Thomas Morstead. The offense moved the ball again, though they only traveled 24 yards across nine plays before the punt. It was methodical. It didn’t have the chunk play.

But the Jets were still positioned for at least another field goal, at least until the Chargers’ fifth sack of the night changed that.

After a three-and-out from the Chargers, Zach Wilson and the Jets will get the ball back. Their most productive drive — especially with the chunk play from Wilson to Garrett Wilson — was the one to start the third quarter, and now they'll get a chance to build on that.

Sauce Gardner broke up a pass intended for Austin Ekeler on third down. Gang Green recovered from short completions to Ekeler and Keenan Allen to force a stop on a short third down.