Jamal Adams stared at the sky above MetLife Stadium, his hands on his helmet, his back on the turf, the football laying at his side.

The promising rookie Jets safety just had another near interception fall through his hands in Sunday's 14-7 loss to the Chargers. It's been a relatively common theme this year -- Adams can do everything on the field ... but hang onto the ball.

A troubling deficiency? Bad luck?

Adams says it's the latter.

"I can get criticized for my ball skills, and that's fine," Adams said. "I think my ball skills are great, to be honest with you. I dropped the one, but it is what it is."

Adams inability to hang onto the ball has become a bit of a playful joke around the Jets -- even he pokes fun at himself. Earlier this season, when Bills rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman threw five interceptions in one half, Adams sent out a playful tweet about how he's "just trying to get one."

Last week in practice, Adams returned an interception for a touchdown against the scout team. The Jets training staff got the ball, then left it in Adams' stall with a note about his first career practice pick.

Interceptions are undoubtedly in Adams future. They're coming. Why they haven't arrived yet is just a bit ... puzzling.

But Adams pays it no mind. He has bigger things to worry about. Sunday was -- yet again -- another example of the Jets failing to close out games.

Time for Jets to start Hackenberg

The Chargers took a touchdown lead late in the third quarter. The Jets went scoreless in the fourth, failing to erase the deficit. It's a troubling trend. The Jets watched games get away from them in the fourth quarter against the Dolphins, Falcons, Bucs and Panthers, too.

"We had a lot of opportunities to win the game," Adams said. "On defense, we left a lot of plays out there as far as making plays on the ball. We have to learn how to close out the game, no matter the circumstance. It doesn't matter who is in the ball game, us as a team, we have to finish.

"Again, it's not about me or interceptions. It's about this team finishing ball games and getting wins. Laying that foundation and building for next year. That's what it is about, and it will never be about me or interceptions. You can write about it but, that's my least concern."

Connor Hughes may be reached at chughes@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connor_J_Hughes. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.