FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets began Week 3 of their quarterback competition on Monday, with presumptive starter Josh McCown and Christian Hackenberg sharing first-team reps -- same as last week.
Bryce Petty has slipped to a distant third, based on the number of practice reps, but he still has a chance to win the starting job, coach Todd Bowles insisted. By the end of the preseason, Petty will have the same number of game reps as the others, he said. That's because he's probably planning to play Petty for the entire fourth game.
A few takeaways from Monday:
JOSH McCOWN
McCown is a fiery competitor. At one point, he barked at offensive coordinator John Morton, presumably because the play call came in late and didn't leave him enough time to get set and run the play. This wasn't a crisp practice for McCown (8-for-18, four sacks), who misfired on four straight passes in the red zone and sputtered in a two-minute drill.
Wow moment: Early in practice, McCown made a nice back-shoulder pass to rookie ArDarius Stewart. Strong throw, excellent timing, good catch.
Whoa moment: There was a bad/funny moment near the goal line. Elijah McGuire ran a flat route out of the backfield, but never turned his head. McCown's pass hit him in the back of the helmet, conjuring up memories of the time Tim Tebow got doinked in the head in 2012.
CHRISTIAN HACKENBERG
Hackenberg received more reps than McCown (30 to 29), many of them coming with the starters. By having him split the work with McCown, the Jets are trying to do two things: They want to allow McCown to build chemistry with the starters while continuing to feed Hackenberg's development. This probably is the last week they can do that. Next week will be geared toward getting the starters ready.
Wow moment: Hackenberg made a nice throw on the run, rolling right and zipping a completion to Jalin Marshall.
Whoa moment: He didn't have any ugly moments, although there were three sacks. Overall, this wasn't a great day for Hackenberg (8-for-19), but he was victimized by three drops.
BRYCE PETTY
Petty (5-for-8) had only 10 reps -- a typical day. Bowles can say what he wants, but actions speak louder than words.
Wow moment: He rallied from a shaky start, throwing touchdowns on back-to-back plays in a red zone period. Petty was fired up after connecting with Myles White, who miraculously didn't drop it.
Whoa moment: Petty threw two interceptions, both of which came on deflections. Bad luck? Uh, not entirely. The first was a deep heave to Robby Anderson, the second was a forced throw into man-to-man coverage.
