The Jets dropped their third straight game on Monday, a 23-20 loss to the division rival Bills. The Jets are now 2-4 and looking for answers.

Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:

1. There were many reasons for the Jets to trade for Aaron Rodgers in 2023, but the biggest one was that he could win the close games for the Jets. When the team had the ball in the last two minutes, he would deliver. The Jets would have a reason to believe, unlike when Zach Wilson was the quarterback.

Good …

This is now three weeks in a row where the Jets had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter and Rodgers failed to do so. It’s probably unfair to blame everything on him.

Obviously, if Greg Zuerlein makes all his field goals, the Jets win the Broncos game and this one. If they don’t get called for some penalties, who knows what will happen?

But this is part of the deal when you’re a quarterback, especially if you have Rodgers’ resume. Everyone is looking to you to win these games.

During Robert Saleh’s first year as Jets coach, the team was shut down frequently. He talked about the team needing to get to a point where they could win close games in the fourth quarter. They are that team now. They play close games. They just don’t win them. They have now lost these last three games by a total of 10 points.

It still seems like Rodgers isn’t on the same page as some of his receivers. He said Mike Williams ran the wrong route on the last offensive play the Jets had and it ended in an interception. This marks the second week in a row that the Jets’ hopes were ended when Rodgers was intercepted on a pass from Williams. I’m not sure how you get that chemistry into the season. That was developed in the spring and summer and Williams missed all of that. Newly acquired Davante Adams can help with that as he clearly already has chemistry with Rodgers. These last-minute targets for Williams could now shift to Adams.

The Jets are close. That’s the good news for them. The bad news is that they have now lost three winnable games.

2. The biggest improvement under new play-caller Todd Downing was the number of explosive plays the Jets had. They had nine plays of 20 yards or more on Monday night. That was something that was sorely lacking under Nathaniel Hackett. This should help loosen up the defense against the Jets. It was clear that the Broncos and Vikings weren’t worried that the Jets could beat them with a big play. That will change from Monday evening.

Overall, the offense showed a lot of improvement. The line created gaps and Breece Hall looked like itself again. Garrett Wilson looked energetic. I think the change in the play-caller will have a bigger impact than the change in the head coach.

3. This is the second Monday night game this season in which news arrived before the game that the team’s top running back would be inactive.

Monday it was James Cook. In Week 1 it was Christian McCaffrey. It’s also the second time an unknown backup has blown up on the Jets, something that should be a concern for Ulbrich.

On Monday, rookie Ray Davis had 139 yards from scrimmage against the Jets. Jordan Mason had 147 rushing yards for the 49ers in Week 1.

You can’t blame this loss on the Jets’ defense, but this unit needs to play better against the run. How can two guys that most fans have never heard of get loose on this Jets defense? I think this team really misses John Franklin-Myers. That was a terrible trade by Joe Douglas.

Ulbrich, the head coach, needs to tell Ulbrich, the defensive coordinator, to fix this problem quickly.

4. I know this isn’t a new thought, but man did the Jets stink by not drafting Josh Allen in 2018. He’s great to watch. That throw from the end zone to Davis was ridiculous.

Some will argue that Allen wouldn’t be Allen if the Jets had drafted him and that they would have ruined him just like they ruined Sam Darnold. Maybe they’re right, but maybe he has the skills to overcome the Jets’ organizational dysfunction that has sunk other young quarterbacks. We’ll never know because Mike Maccagnan chose Darnold, a choice that was praised at the time. Six years later, with Allen ruling the division, it seems like one of the biggest misses in Jets history.

REVEALING STATISTICS: Aaron Rodgers has now gone 29 straight games without throwing for 300 yards. He came close on Monday, throwing for 294 yards. It’s a crazy streak dating back to December 2021.

SURPRISING SNAP NUMBER: CJ Mosley played just nine snaps (13 percent). It could be that Mosley still isn’t close enough to 100 percent to play more, or it could be that the Jets think the defense is better with Jamien Sherwood at the Mike. It will be something to watch in the future.

GAME BALL: Breece Hall looked like itself again. He rushed for 113 yards and had 56 yards receiving. Yes, he should have scored in his long run, but there wasn’t one Jet who played a flawless game.