LANDOVER, Md. — The contrast in backup quarterbacks on this night was so stark, so neon-bright it was borderline blinding.
There was Geno Smith, in the midst of a second consecutive summer of discontent, playing such uneven football it has to make Jets fans shiver at the thought of starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick being injured for so much as a TV commercial break this season.
And there, on the other side of the field, was Washington’s Colt McCoy, who started the game and spent the first half of the Redskins’ 22-18 win at FedEx Field shredding and schooling the Jets’ first- and second-team defenses.
If showcasing himself for the Jets or any other team was Smith’s primary goal this preseason, the summer has not gotten off to a great start.
Smith finished 6-of-13 for 47 yards with an interception and a 23.6 quarterback rating. The worst part is he reverted to the very issue that troubled him most in his days as a starter in 2013 and 2014 — the killer turnover.
Smith, who turned the ball over 42 times in two seasons as a starter, telegraphed a pass to Charone Peake and was picked off by Redskins safety Will Blackmon with 2:26 remaining in the first half.
On the very next play, McCoy lofted a majestic 39-yard touchdown pass to Rashad Ross for a 14-2 Washington lead.
“Overall, not up to my standards,’’ Smith said. “I think I could have played better. Turnovers are going to happen. Every quarterback is going to throw an interception. The key thing is can you learn from it? The safety read my eyes intercepted it. It’s one of those plays you wish you could have back.
“Obviously, that’s something that I’ve got to clean up, just not make that throw, not try to make the hero throw, take what they’re giving me on that play.’’
Making Smith’s below-par numbers look even worse, McCoy finished 13-of-16 for 159 yards, two touchdowns, an interception and a 121.6 rating.
You may or may not recall former NFL general manager Charley Casserly, appearing on the NFL Network recently, boldly calling Smith the “best backup quarterback in the league,’’ adding, “Write that down!”
Hopefully, Casserly wrote in pencil and owns an eraser.
Smith’s night also was not helped by the fact that Bryce Petty, the third-string quarterback, looked so much more fluid than he did, leading the Jets to 16 second-half points. Petty finished 16-of-26 for 242 yards, two touchdowns and a 117.8 rating.
Coach Todd Bowles said last week that Smith was the No. 2 quarterback “right now.’’ But after Friday night you have to wonder how much Petty has gained on Smith.
After the game, when asked about the competition for No. 2 quarterback, Bowles made it clear that every position is open.
“Anybody can push anybody at any position,’’ Bowles said.
Smith is a confounding figure.
You don’t know whether to root for him and buy into his recent assertions that he’s a matured, changed person, or to be wary that his claims of new-found maturity are disingenuous and he’s the same guy who lost the starting job when now former teammate IK Enemkpali clocked him in the chin last summer over a reported $600 Smith owed him.
Part of you wants to root for Smith knowing he wasn’t given a proper chance to succeed in the two seasons he was the starter because he had a weak cast of skill-position players around him. And besides, who doesn’t like a good comeback story?
But just when you start to feel for Smith’s plight, he does things that leave you wondering just how changed a man he really is from a year ago.
After he was booed by the home crowd in his preseason debut last Thursday night against the Jaguars, Smith, who completed 8-of-14 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown pass in that game, violated NFL media policy rules and refused to speak to reporters afterward. In the four days following the game, Smith declined every interview request leading up to Friday night’s game.
Then last Sunday, during media availability with players following practice, Smith stoked a fire he ought to want tamped out and delivered this message on his Twitter account: “If they don’t have a story these days, they’ll make one.’’
The only thing missing from the misinformed and juvenile tweet was a proper hashtag: #stayclassygeno.