BALTIMORE – Well, that was (mostly) predictable.

As expected, the Jets were smacked around by the Ravens, 42-21, on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium. But the surprising part is that head coach Adam Gase’s team was actually more competitive than the scoreboard really showed.

Still, the Jets (5-9) are now 0-4 against teams that currently have winning records. They have two more chances (against the Steelers and Bills) to finally notch a win against a legitimately good opponent.

Strangely enough, Thursday night’s loss actually provided some hope that this team may actually be capable of pulling that off. For now, though, here are five takeaways from the Jets’ ninth loss of the season:

1. Sam Darnold keeps looking more like Brett Favre

No, Darnold doesn’t have Favre’s epic arm strength (though he does have a strong arm). No, they don’t really play the same style. But they keep seeming more and more similar in this sense: Darnold, like Favre, will make a series of eye-popping, gutsy throws that thread the needle and whistle past defenders’ ears. He’ll do a whole bunch of stuff that makes it clear he’s special. But he’s also prone to some bizarre brain farts and over-aggression that cost him.

That boom-or-bust style was on display Thursday night. Darnold excelled at fitting balls into tight windows; the touchdown throw to Jamison Crowder in the second quarter was the perfect example. There was barely a glimmer of daylight and only his man could have caught that. It was an unquestionably elite throw.

But then there was Darnold’s pick right before the half, which made no logical sense. He was seemingly throwing to no one and picked the worst possible time – trailing 21-7, but with points well within reach – to throw an interception near the goal line.

With each passing week, it feels like this is the kind of quarterback Darnold is, when he’s at his best: Really good, but with a tendency to produce some head-scratching moments.

2. Cliche comes true

Losing coaches always love to say that their team had a chance, but “just missed too many opportunities.” Often times, that cliche is a stretch. But Thursday night’s loss really did embody that motto. Had the Jets made one or two plays in one or two key moments, this could have been an entirely different game.

Blocked field goal. Failed fourth-and-one in the red zone. Interception near the goal line.

The Jets legitimately came close to hanging up and extra 17 points in the first half alone. Do that and suddenly the Ravens are under real pressure throughout. Instead, the Jets crumbled when push came to shove.

That’s the difference between good and bad teams, obviously. But there haven’t been many times this season when the Jets actually put themselves on the brink of accomplishing something impressive. So, the fact that they even had those chances in the first place is somewhat encouraging – at least compared to most of their other eight losses.

Also, the fact that Darnold stitched together a bunch of legitimate, coherent drives against a strong defense and the hottest team in the NFL has to be viewed as a huge positive – especially after two weeks of mediocre-at-best offense against brutally bad opponents.

That said, Gase’s struggles with in-game adjustment was on full display in the second half. Here’s how Jets’ offense started the half: Punt, fumble, punt, punt. They ran just 15 plays during that stretch. That’s brutal. They finally figured it out with a four-play, 64-yard TD drive after that, but the Jets couldn’t afford to throw away an entire quarter against this potent Ravens team.

3. Gregg Williams was helpless

On paper, it was impossible to imagine how the Jets’ defense was going to slow down quarterback Lamar Jackson and his other prolific weapons. Gregg Williams’ unit was epically banged up (again), working on a short week and facing arguably the best offense in football.

Turns out, that’s exactly how things turned out. The task was as impossible as it seemed. As well as Williams fared last week, when the Jets held the Dolphins to seven field goals and zero touchdowns, he was helpless to stop the likely MVP on Thursday night. It just wasn’t going to happen with this makeshift lineup. Not against a mobile quarterback who spent the night snapping NFL records – like the single-season mark for quarterback rushing and becoming the first QB ever to pass for 2,500 yards and run for 1,000 in one year.

That said, Williams actually deserves some measure of credit. After giving up three straight touchdowns to start the night, the defense clearly made some adjustments and throwing something new at Jackson and Co. because their effectively fell off considerably.

Yes, by that point, it was already too late. But slowing Jackson down – even once the Jets were in a hole – with this patchwork group is impressive, no matter the context.

4. Genius Brant Boyer

The Jets’ special teams coordinator had to be the happiest man on the visiting sideline Thursday night – after that blocked Sam Ficken field goal was out of the way, at least. The Jets’ return game looked terrific. They brought multiple kickoffs out beyond the 30-yard line. Braxton Berrios broke a 21-yard punt return to get across midfield just before half. Oh, and defensive end Tarell Basham blocked a punt, leading to a B.J. Bello touchdown. Lac Edwards pinned the Ravens inside their own 5 in the fourth quarter, too.

At least a small chunk of the offense’s success – at least in the first half – has to go to Boyer’s unit, which helped put Darnold and Co. in advantageous positions.

5. Brink of more (awful) history

The Jets have had some seriously lean times throughout their history. We all know it. But unless Gase wins both of the next two games, the Jets are going to do something they’ve never done before: Post four straight seasons with double-digit losses.

The franchise has strung together three straight years of 10-plus defeats on three occasions. They went 3-11 three times between 1975-77. They lost a total of 38 games from 1994-96. And they’ve lost at least 11 games the past three seasons, too.

But never before has this long-tortured franchise had such a prolonged stretch of intense losing. Barring a miracle (and two wins against playoff contenders) Gase is going to make another bit of sad history pretty soon – even if he’s only responsible for 25 percent of the pathetic record.

Matt Stypulkoski may be reached at mstypulkoski@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @M_Stypulkoski. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.