With a chance to make a major statement on primetime Monday Night Football, the New York Jets instead fell flat and appeared incapable of being a playoff-caliber team in a dismal 27-6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Though still in the AFC playoff race, the Jets (4-4) failed to take advantage of a prime opportunity to gain valuable ground Monday. With a win, the Jets would have moved to within a half game of the first-place Miami Dolphins (6-3) in the AFC East and a half game up on the Buffalo Bills (5-4).

Instead, they remain in third place in the division. Plus, they hurt their wild card positioning, allowing the Chargers (4-4) to gain an important tiebreaker with the same record through eight games.

That Aaron Rodgers heroic return from Achilles surgery seems even more of a longshot now. Because it's hard to believe the Jets will be in the playoffs or in the running for a spot when/if Rodgers could possibly return in December or January. And Rodgers is only going to push to come back early if the playoffs are in the picture.

Let’s examine what went wrong for the Jets against the Chargers and why it’s hard to imagine them sticking around long in the playoff hunt.

Another slow start doomed Jets vs. Chargers

The Jets trailed 14-0 after the first quarter and they didn’t really throw a scare into the Chargers the rest of the way. They have now been outscored 61-12 in the first quarter this season. They've scored one touchdown in the opening 15 minutes over the first eight games. That's not a winning nor a playoff recipe.

After a three-and-out on their first offensive series, the Jets allowed an 83-yard punt return touchdown. Their next series, Garrett Wilson fumbled the ball away in Chargers territory. On series No. 3, Zach Wilson fumbled on a strip sack at midfield. The Chargers marched down the field and scored their second touchdown.

You could’ve switched ESPN off right then and there.

At home, in front of their rabid fans, in a game chock full of playoff implications, the Jets appeared cooked down 14-0 early.

Inept Jets offense implodes against 31st-ranked defense

The main reason why all hope appeared lost is that the Jets' offense is terrible. Simply, they do not score touchdowns. The New York offense has only eight TDs this season, three in the past five games. Being down 14 points seemed insurmountable. And it was.

Zach Wilson fumbled twice, looked indecisive at times, missed open receivers and again couldn't get the Jets in the end zone. But this wasn't all on Wilson (33-49, 263 yards, 0 TD, 0 picks). New York's patchwork offensive line was manhandled, allowing eight sacks. There were four pre-snap penalties. Allen Lazard had a couple drops and a holding penalty that negated a positive gain on a screen to Breece Hall. Even Garrett Wilson (seven receptions for 80 yards) had two drops.

The Jets failed miserably in the red zone again. Last in the NFL in that category, the Jets allowed a pair of sacks after a first-and-10 at the Chargers 13 to begin the second half. And they closed the game with C.J. Uzomah dropping a wide-open pass in the end zone and Tyler Conklin being stopped at the one-yard line after a fourth-down catch.

Oh, and this inept performance came against the 31st-ranked defense in the League.

No 4th-quarter magic, surprise heroes for Jets in lopsided loss to Chargers

Here's a stunning statistic. Wilson leads all NFL quarterbacks this season with three fourth-quarter comebacks. While he has done his part, those comebacks have been largely fueled by others.

The Jets snatched victory from the jaws of defeat – to use a worn cliché – three times already. Xavier Gipson returned a punt for a TD in overtime when the Jets upset the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. Tony Adams had a huge pick against Jalen Hurts late in the fourth quarter to set up the game-sealing touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6. And in last week’s ugly 13-10 overtime win against the New York Giants, Wilson played a big role, but the team MVP all game long was their punter! That’s right, Thomas Morstead helped save them. As did kicker Greg Zuerlein.

But you can’t always rely on fourth-quarter magic and surprise heroes. You need to get a lead, play from ahead and put teams away early. The Jets didn’t come close to doing that Monday.

Elite defense lone reason to still believe Jets can make playoffs

The main reason the Jets are .500 after eight games and still in the playoff conversation is because of their defense. Again, the Jets defense was outstanding Monday. They allowed the Chargers to 191 yards total offense and limited Justin Herbert to 136 yards in the air. Yet, the Jets lost by 21 points.

You can't imagine how frustrated and furious that Jets defense must be that for a second straight season, their unreal efforts are going for naught.

Against the Chargers, the Jets had five sacks (1.5 by Bryce Huff); John Franklin-Myers knocked down three passes at the line of scrimmage; Sauce Gardner neatly broke up a pair of passes; and C.J. Mosley had 11 tackles. The only thing the Jets defense didn’t do was make the Chargers turn the ball over.

In the end, the lone reason to believe the Jets can be a playoff team is their elite defense.