FLORHAM PARK — The Jets are a quarter of the way through their season, but it’s still impossible to provide a fair evaluation of how new coach Adam Gase is doing.

Our eyes and the numbers tell us that this team is bad. Really, really bad.

The Jets (0-4) are off to their worst start since 2003, and they've been non-competitive for the last month because they can’t move the ball or score.

But logic tells us that this much of this awfulness is because of injuries and bad luck.

The Jets had to trot out Luke Falk, a third-string quarterback who began the season on the practice squad and had zero NFL snaps a month ago, to play the vast majority of their last three games. They lost Quincy Enunwa, one of their top receivers, for the season and have been without another key weapon, Chris Herndon, because of suspension — and he’ll likely miss more time after suffering a hamstring injury training on his own last week.

Some blame Gase for all the Jets’ troubles and see those setbacks as excuses. That’s unreasonable. Realistically, it would have been almost impossible for any coach to succeed given the Jets’ circumstances over the last month.

But Gase’s free pass stops right now.

Darnold is back. He was cleared for contact on Tuesday and will start Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium (4:25 p.m., CBS).

The Jets brought in Gase because they believed he was a forward-looking offensive mind who could unleash the true potential of Darnold. They brought him in to score points.

Now, it’s time to see what he can do.

It’s unfair to expect the Jets to instantly become a dangerous offense against the Cowboys. Darnold, after all, has made only 14 career starts and spent the last four weeks recovering from mono. But it’s time for them to start showing progress.

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It won’t be easy against the Cowboys, who are ranked sixth in total defense (321.8 yards per game). But the Packers showed last week that it’s possible to move the ball and score on Dallas — Green Bay ran for four touchdowns on the way to a 34-24 win in Dallas.

No one should expect the Jets to hang 34 points on the Cowboys. But stringing together a long scoring drive or two, something we haven’t seen since Week 1, is a reasonable expectation.

Darnold is a massive upgrade over Falk, who played worse than any Jets quarterback we’ve seen in recent history — including Bryce Petty. Falk flat-out did not look like a capable NFL quarterback — Gase admitted Wednesday that the team may be looking for a more experienced, capable backup for the final 12 games of the season.

Adding Darnold, who still has a lot to prove but has already shown he can be effective at this level, will make Gase’s job easier in several ways.

“He’s what you kind of refer to as an eraser-type player, where it could be the worst [play] call ever and he makes it work,” Gase said of Darnold. “If something happens, he can escape. He can extend plays. When you have good pocket presence and you have the ability to escape the pocket, it’ll mask mistakes that are made by others.”

It’s still not a perfect situation. The offensive line is a mess. Enunwa isn’t coming back, and Herndon won’t be on the field as quickly as the Jets hoped.

But Darnold has played well in far less ideal circumstances. Last December, Darnold kept the Jets competitive in several games, despite playing with a patchwork offensive line and limited weapons.

Now, Gase has his young quarterback, a Pro Bowl running back in Le’Veon Bell, a solid slot receiver in Jamison Crowder, and a deep threat in Robby Anderson.

There are no more excuses. If the offense can’t move the ball, and if the Jets can’t stay competitive, something is seriously wrong.

Andy Vasquez is the Jets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Jets analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app.

Email: vasqueza@northjersey.com Twitter: @andy_vasquez

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