Adam Gase, Sam Darnold downplay their sideline exchange against Ravens

Adam Gase and Sam Darnold gave the impression that the video that went viral of their exchange on the sideline Thursday night falls under the category of nothing to see here.

Both said they weren’t disagreeing. Gase said he and Darnold were upset that someone didn’t do his job on a fourth-down play late in the 42-21 loss to the Ravens. Darnold agreed, saying he was frustrated about the execution.

“We were both in the same mind frame where somebody didn’t execute their job,” Gase said on a conference call Friday. “Basically, I was bitching about that and he was doing the same thing.”

The exchange, which aired on television and took off after the game, featured Darnold seeming to wave off something that Gase said.

At one point, Darnold said something that elicited what appeared to be a reaction of surprise from backup quarterback David Fales. His eyes widened and his mouth opened.

“David always kind of has that weird look on his face anyways,” Darnold joked before turning serious. “We were not in a disagreement at all. It was just me being frustrated with kind of the circumstance that was going on with the game at the time.”

Trailing by 21 points, the Jets had just failed to convert a fourth-and-1. Darnold was pressured by an unblocked Jaylon Ferguson and his pass to Jamison Crowder was incomplete.

“Where we were at in the game, especially not executing on a fourth down, a really key down, I was frustrated about the circumstance,” Darnold said. “It wasn’t anything more than that. We were just having a conversation about not executing the way that we’re supposed [to], and that was really it.”

That’s been a big part of the Jets’ story this season and why they’re 5-9. They’ve failed to execute at key moments throughout the season.

They trailed the Ravens 21-7 at halftime, but it probably should have been much closer. The Jets had 199 yards of offense in the first half, 11 more than the Ravens.

Their last two drives of the second quarter ended with the Jets failing to pick up a fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 7-yard line and with Darnold throwing an interception at the Ravens’ 5. Sam Ficken also missed a field goal in the opening quarter.

It would be hard to overcome all those missteps against many teams and virtually impossible against the NFL’s highest-scoring team. MVP favorite Lamar Jackson threw five touchdown passes and ran for 86 yards on eight carries for the Ravens.

Gase said he wasn’t bothered by the bizarre scene after the game in which some of his players, including Le’Veon Bell, Robby Anderson and James Burgess, lined up to get an autographed jersey from Jackson.

“That’s really something that I really don’t care about because it doesn’t affect winning or losing or anything like that,” he said. “I don’t waste time with it. If that’s what guys want to do, that’s what they want to do.”

Third-quarter blues

The Jets couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half. They had 20 yards of offense and one first down on three third-quarter series.

It’s been a struggle for them to execute in the third quarter for much of the season. They’ve been held scoreless in the third quarter four times in the last five games.

“It’s never one thing in the third quarter,” Gase said. “We’re just not consistent enough overall on offense. We need to be to move the ball and go score touchdowns. Whether it’s first, second, third or fourth quarter it doesn’t matter. All that stuff is irrelevant. It’s just putting together a good drive no matter when it is in the game.”

Two-minute drill

Gase indicated that Jamal Adams (ankle) and Quinnen Williams (neck) could return to practice Wednesday on a limited basis. Adams missed the last two games and Williams sat out Thursday night against Baltimore . . . Rookie Jeff Smith suffered a high ankle sprain Thursday and will be placed on injured reserve. The Jets will make a roster move to fill the spot next week.