One of the big mysteries of the Jets’ entire preseason — would Christian Hackenberg play in a game? — finally was solved Saturday night.
Boy, was it.
The notion that the Jets were hiding their second-round pick because Hackenberg was so raw was shot down almost as soon as the Penn State product entered early in the fourth quarter of their 21-20 loss to the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Hackenberg threw incomplete on his first two passes, then got what remained of the crowd buzzing with four straight completions capped by a 10-yard touchdown strike to rookie wideout Robby Anderson.
But any thought of Hackenberg joining the competition with Geno Smith and Bryce Petty for the No. 2 job were dashed when he threw an ugly interception from his own end zone, setting up the go-ahead score by the Giants with 2:31 left.
“He was up and down, obviously,” coach Todd Bowles said. “He made some throws but he missed some throws. [But] it was good to get his feet wet.”
Whether the Jets would let Hackenberg do that had become a pressing question. He was held out of their first two preseason games while Bowles refused to commit publicly to playing him at all this month.
Hackenberg, in fact, was the highest-drafted player this year not to play a single snap in the first two weeks of the preseason.
But after Petty threw an interception early in the fourth that Giants defensive end Kerry Wynn returned 73 yards for a score, the Jets turned to Hackenberg — who admitted his head was spinning.
“It was just a cool experience,” Hackenberg said. “I was just trying to take it in. There was a lot of work that went into that over the years, so to finally get out there was pretty cool.”
The skepticism about Hackenberg appeared to be justified when he threw incomplete twice and was called for a delay penalty on his first two snaps.
But he quickly found his rhythm, completing a 16-yard throw to tight end Zach Sudfeld, followed by a 26-yarder to wideout Charone Peake, a 27-yarder to Anderson and, finally, a perfect, 10-yard lob to Anderson in the left corner of the end zone for the score.
“That was sweet,” Hackenberg said of the TD toss. “I just wanted to go celebrate with my guys.”
But the celebration proved short-lived when Hackenberg failed to pick up a zone blitz on a pass over the middle to tight end Wes Saxton and was intercepted by rookie safety Andrew Adams.
“It’s something I’ve got to learn from,” Hackenberg said. “I can’t do that, especially in that field position. It sucks, but I think it’s a good learning tool.”
Hackenberg’s final numbers — 6 of 16 for 105 yards, with a 55.5 passer rating — won’t impress anyone, but that doesn’t mean his night lacked encouraging signs.
“Each week has been better and better, just from feeling more and more comfortable,” said Hackenberg, who is expected to get more playing time in the preseason finale Thursday at the Eagles. “It’s a new environment. Each day is an opportunity to learn something.
“Obviously, you want to play. But for me, patience is the key.”