At first glance, there doesn’t seem like there are a lot of available chips sitting on the table for the home team. The Jets are 5-9, assured of a losing season — for those keeping track at home, that’s 29 of them in 60 years, four in a row, six out of eight. Too many seasons have ended this way: playing out the string, playing for pride, playing spoiler.

Why is this different?

Because the Jets are in the market of selling hope right now, and not just the kind that the die-hards swallow because it provides sustenance. There will be no high, high draft pick around which to build a conversation the next few months. The GM has a six-year contract. He’s not going anywhere, so you can cross that narrative off the list. The coach has been given a vote of confidence by the owner, who himself is clearly not going anywhere.

So that leaves the present tense. It leaves Sunday afternoon against the Steelers, at MetLife Stadium, and there is little doubt that black and gold will be the latest color invasion to crawl into the building. Steelers fans travel well anyway, and they still have a say in their own playoff destiny. They need the game. Which means the Jets are going to have to be fully engaged lest they be chased off the field, run out of the building.

If the Jets win the game there will still be a lingering sour taste because, all you need to do is look at next week’s opponent, Buffalo, and be reminded of the opportunity that was squandered this year. Good for the Bills: They got on a run early, found their legs, found that they have a sound defense and have already secured a spot in the playoffs.

But it is also impossible to forget: Fifteen weeks ago, the Jets led the Bills in the season opener 16-0 after three quarters. The Jets didn’t look like SuperTeam, no, but they sure as heck looked better than the Bills. Substantially better. Right up till the end.

Bills 17, Jets 16.

It is impossible to know the full impact of one game. Sam Darnold clearly wasn’t at full strength that day and would soon vanish for a few weeks thanks to mononucleosis. C.J. Mosley got hurt against the Bills, made a few token comebacks, but was mostly gone after taking a Josh Allen interception back for a touchdown. Those absences led to a few non-competitive weeks, which led to despair, which led to Adam Gase looking like a dead coach walking for a few weeks. It was like a nightmare, perfect-storm edition, had descended on Florham Park.

There are two things to remember here.

First, though 5-9 is awful, and nobody’s version of a productive season, they aren’t 1-13. And be honest, there were times this year when it felt like they sure could be. Say what you want about Gase, but he never let the walls cave in, Pat Shurmur-style. It’s small consolation. But there are times it is useful to look around and realize, with certainty: It could’ve been worse.

Second, of course, is the quarterback.

And look, Darnold will not be matching up with Ben Roethlisberger on Sunday. He has little to lose when he plays the Steelers. But it wouldn’t be a terrible thing if we saw an A-game effort from him. Even if you don’t believe in seasonal carryovers, turning in a good day against a stout defense would be something he — and every other Jets fan — could bring into the offseason. The Jets are still committed to Darnold for practical purposes — he’s just two years into his reign as a franchise quarterback — but also because he’s shown just enough to justify that lofty standing.

But he needs to show more. Next week the Bills may well throw the taxi squad at him if they have nothing to play for. This could be his last legit crack at a real defense until September. Now is the time to show that.

“For me it’s always going to be about just focusing on just this game,” Gase said this week. “Every game is important in the NFL, no matter what time of the year it is. It just gets hyped up differently, by different people. For me it’s about getting better, making sure we’re executing the right way, the guys that we have available to us, just trying to get them to play at the highest level we can.”

It’s not exactly a win-and-you’re-in game, which is what you want this late in a season. But it’s the best they can do right now. It’ll have to do.

For more on the Jets, listen to the latest episode of the “Gang’s All Here” podcast: