Brady Cook thrown into ‘great challenge’ in Jets debut

All the Jets fans who wanted to see if Brady could Cook got their chance on Sunday.

Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor left Sunday’s game with the Dolphins after six plays thanks to a groin injury.

That put Brady Cook, an undrafted rookie out of Missouri, into his first game.

Cook looked like what you would expect from him making his first start after receiving no first-team reps this season.

He was 14-of-30 for 163 yards with two interceptions and was sacked six times in the 34-10 loss.

“It was definitely a challenge, but a great challenge,” Cook said. “One that comes with the job of being the backup quarterback. I felt ready to play today, and obviously I didn’t do enough to get a win.”

This was the third time Cook was active this season.

He also served as the backup against the Buccaneers and Bengals but did not play in those games.

Cook moved into the backup role this week after Justin Fields was sidelined due to a balky knee.

Cook, who has been on the practice squad all season, looked nervous at first.

His passes had a lot of zip on them and looked hard to handle.

He also did not get much help from his receivers, who dropped five passes.

It seemed like he settled down as the game went along and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand called some short passes to help ease him in.

“Coming in at half, talking it over, just taking a deep breath, and then coming back out there, I definitely did [settle down],” Cook said. “I think you definitely saw flashes there in the fourth quarter of us moving the ball. So, we need more of it.”

It is unclear how serious the injuries are to Taylor and Fields.

Cook may need to start next week against the Jaguars if the other quarterbacks can’t go.

Despite the loss, he impressed teammates with his poise.

“Supreme confidence,” running back Breece Hall said. “He takes every rep in practice like a pro. Once I heard how he came in the huddle and commanded the huddle, I was like, ‘Alright, he isn’t nervous. He’ll be alright.’ We could have been better for him tonight, so I wouldn’t put that one on him. He probably thinks he could have been better. He’s going to beat himself up, but as an offense, I think we could have easily made a few more plays for him and Tyrod as well.”