GLENDALE – Only the Jets could promise their tortured and tormented faithful a period of hope and great expectations and turn it into a Butt Fumble.

Only the Jets could turn a planned Desert Storm operation into a regular-season Mud Bowl.

So there was Aaron Rodgers, face down on the ground on Arizona’s 9-yard line early in the third quarter as State Farm Stadium roared after he failed twice on second-and-goal from the 3 and then a fumble on lost a bag and enough of his brain to require a visit to the tent for examination.

By then it was Cardinals 24, Jets 6 and well on its way to Cardinals 31, Jets 6.

Rodgers (22-35, 151 yards) was brought here with so much Savior fanfare to win these games, to laugh in the face of adversity, to cheer all the Jets in their desperate hour and to put faith in his group and in his entire team to wake up.

And so the long, painful flight home brought with it a future Hall of Fame quarterback, a season he didn’t save, and a team and a franchise he couldn’t save from himself.

The same older Rodgers, quarterback of Dead Team Walking.

Team dysfunction, take a bow.

Woody Johnson, take a bow. Firing Robert Saleh didn’t work. The acquisition of Davante Adams and Haason Reddick hasn’t worked.

And at 3-7, Aaron Rodgers hasn’t worked.

He’s given us flashes of MVP Rodgers, but not nearly enough.

The grade Pass-Fail: Failed.

“It’s definitely been a lot of emotions this year,” Rodgers said.

He politely said this wasn’t the time or place to go into more detail.

“But at some point I’ll give you a better answer,” Rodgers added.

Yards per attempt: 4.3. Longest completion: 50 feet to Breece Hall. Longest completion to Adams: 14 yards. Longest completion for Garrett Wilson: 12 yards.

“You’re not going to beat anybody who scores six points,” Rodgers said.

He once could score six points in his sleep. Or in his cheese cup.

Adams once said Rodgers had the Michael Jordan effect in Green Bay.

“If Michael Jordan was on this team, he wouldn’t be happy,” Adams said.

Rodgers complained about not attacking TE Tyler Conklin during the goal-line silliness that could have turned it into a game. Adams complained about not receiving either of the two passes to him that may or may not have been tipped.

Visions of super-greatness were an illusion and a delusion.

The 3-7 Jets are still mathematically alive.

But not mentally, emotionally or spiritually.

Dead Team Walking – limping, crawling – towards a 14th straight season without a playoff berth.

A 40-year-old quarterback is no longer the Same Old Rodgers and is stranded in the desert for another season.

What went wrong? “Situational football. Third down. Red zone,” Rodgers said.

The Cardinals were the most desperate team. That’s shameful. The cardinals wanted it more. That’s a shame. The Cardinals were the more physical team. The Jets were the softer team.

This so-called Dream Team is officially a nightmare for all Jets fans.

There was no oasis in the desert for Rodgers, no fountain of youth where he could look and feel young forever.

He has helped teams in their most desperate hour, but not this, not here, not now.

Rodgers’ 40-year-old body had been energized by the 10 days’ rest, and there was optimism among the Jets that he could lead them on a long playoff run.

The offensive line had returned intact.

Adams (zero catches in the first half, 6-31) and Garrett Wilson (5-41) were ready to catch fire again.

The same older Rodgers, quarterback of Dead Team Walking.

Kyler Murray (22-24, 266 yards. 1 TD, 3-21-2 TDs rushing) played with the Jets defense, aptly known as Gang Green, that was undisciplined and too often incapable of professional tackling. Murray threw for 199 yards in the first half. Rodgers, trying to establish the running game, threw for 40 yards.

The Jets showed no fight, even after Quincy Williams sent Murray’s helmet flying with a violent sack midway through the second quarter.

Here’s how the Jets defense responded: Murray, third-and-10, hit TE Trey McBride for 13 yards, and Murray found Marvin Harrison Jr. against DJ Reed with the 9-yard TD and it was 21-6.

There had already been a Reed pass interference in the end zone to set up Murray’s 1-yard TD jog around the left side, with Sauce Gardner shrugging off a 17-yard gain on third-and-7 by McBride, a miss tackle by Jalen Mills on a 44-yard reception by James Conner.

So the Jets needed Rodgers to fight fire with fire and take on Murray.

“31-6 is unacceptable,” Wilson said. “We have a team that can play with anyone, but we just don’t keep doing it when it matters.”

Rodgers came here to change all that. Same old jets. The same older Rodgers, quarterback of Dead Team Walking.