Undrafted Jets rookie Brady Cook will make his third straight start at quarterback when New York faces the visiting New England Patriots on Sunday.
Cook has yet to pick up a win, but head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters Monday he thinks Cook was “doing a really, really good job” early Sunday against the Saints before he and the team stumbled the rest of the way to a 29-6 loss in New Orleans.
Cook finished 22-of-35 passing for 188 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and a whopping eight sacks against the Saints.
His first start, a 48-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, came as injuries forced starters Tyrod Taylor and Justin Fields to the sidelines. Taylor was available as Cook’s backup against New Orleans but Glenn said he didn’t consider benching Cook and bringing Taylor in.
“The thing is, we weren’t stagnant until the second half. If you take a look at where we were at, I think it was 9-6, so I thought we were right there in the game. I just thought at that time Brady would give us the best chance to win,” Glenn said.
When asked by reporters Sunday whether Cook got the start because he gives the Jets the best chance to win or because it gives the Jets (3-12) a chance to see what the 24-year-old has in him, Glenn said it was “a little bit of both.” Glenn said the week before the Jets wanted to “continue to evaluate him.”
Cook is 58-for-98 passing for 527 yards and a 59.2 completion percentage with one touchdown and six interceptions in three appearances (two starts) against the Saints, Jaguars and Miami Dolphins, when he entered the game in the first quarter after Taylor went down with a groin injury. He was been sacked 17 times.
The Patriots, meanwhile, come into the matchup having clinched a playoff spot with a late 28-24 comeback win against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night. A Week 17 win against the Jets would secure the AFC East title for New England.
