Brady Cook's Week 15 performance says more about the Jets QB room than it seems

It almost feels natural at this point. In mid-December, writing the New York Jets' season obituary is a tradition unlike any other. Truth be told, I could have written their final send-off weeks, if not months, ago. But after taking a thrashing at the hands of Jacksonville on Sunday, the Jets appear to have hit (another) rock bottom.

There was a ray of positivity shining through the drab Florham Park clouds at one point. The end of October through the end of November was kind to New York. They won three of five, with eyes toward momentum to bring into 2026.

That positive ray of light has been completely shielded by now, though. And after a poor performance, several of the Jets leaders couldn't even be bothered to say anything beyond "nah" and "I have nothing positive to say."

All of that, namely for the locker room culture, is bad. But what's truly the darkest note to take away from the Week 15 loss is the fact that Brady Cook played the way he played — and still remains probably the best option the Jets have under center.

No quarterback room should stoop so low as to consider Cook's output the best punch they can throw. But the Jets always find a new low.

There's no Pro Bowl quarterback walking through that door for the Jets

It doesn't seem so long ago that I was writing a piece comparing Justin Fields to the great Vinny Testaverde (yeah, that really happened). No one viewed Fields as the next Peyton Manning, but the next, I don't know, Kyler Murray? Maybe.

While that may even be generous, there was a sliver of optimism coming to Week 1. Since then, it could not have gone worse.

Fields only played in nine games. He looked lost almost the entire year. He didn't know when players were open. If he did, he sailed it over their heads anyway. So far, he's averaged just 6.2 yards per attempt, a 7.2 average depth of target, and 65.5 Pro Football Focus (PFF) passing grade.

Tyrod Taylor, the sage veteran backup, has appeared in six games, starting four of them. His 5.1 yards per attempt, 1.4% big-time throw percentage on 134 attempts, and 5-5 touchdown to interception ratio only partly tell the tale of how bad he has been when he's seen the field.

And it's not like he was put in a tougher spot than Fields. When Fields played, he averaged 3.09 seconds to throw. This is compared to Taylor, who averaged 3.24 seconds to throw. While Fields has been terrible, Taylor proved why his career is in the twilight of its twilight.

With all of the pitiful production, the Jets were forced to try out their undrafted rookie QB out of Missouri. He got his first start on Sunday after a tough debut in relief against Miami last week.

Was Brady Cook good? No. Was he better than Taylor and Fields? Not definitively. But is he as good as the Jets are going to do for the remainder of this god-forsaken season? Unequivocally, yes.

The numbers aren't pretty, I'll grant you that. Last week, he finished with a 46.7% completion percentage, with two interceptions and zero touchdowns. His PFF passer grade was a hideous 36.4. It wasn't good.

But this week, while still not exactly "good," Cook showed that there's no reason to make any moves at the position right now. His passer grade rose to 51.2, he raised his completion percentage to 66.7% on more attempts, and he picked up 12 first downs. He's also performed with significantly less time to throw than Taylor or Fields have so far, averaging 2.81 seconds to throw.

None of these statistics are great. The production is still incredibly poor. But it's not improving with any of the other options. Typically, when teams see QB play at this level, it is because injuries have forced them to stick a Band-Aid on a gaping wound temporarily.

The Jets are putting out poor production under center because their QB room is just that bad. Fans have plenty to complain about in 2025, and there are countless examples to demonstrate the team's futility.

But perhaps the best example of this is the fact that Brady Cook has been well below average even at his best moments... and that's as good as the Jets got right now.