NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rex Ryan has stuck up for Mark Sanchez from the start. Watching the quarterback literally throw away the Jets’ slim playoff hopes with a season-high five turnovers against Tennessee may be the final straw for New York’s coach.

Sanchez turned the ball over on the Jets’ final three possessions Monday night, the last a fumbled snap at the Tennessee 25 with 43 seconds left, and the Titans held on for a 14-10 victory that knocked New York out of postseason contention.

“Obviously, it’s a devastating loss, out of the playoffs, and it hurts beyond belief,” Ryan said. “I think the thing that really hurts the most is we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves.”

The Jets (6-8) needed to win out and get some help to reach the playoffs, and they had an easy schedule against three straight losing teams. Instead, the Jets will be sitting at home in January for a second straight season after Sanchez helped New York reach the AFC title game in his first two years.

“Obviously, this isn’t what I thought this football team would be,” Ryan said. “There’s no doubt about that. I thought we’d be in the playoffs, but that’s not where we are. We have two games left and I believe my team’s going to give everything we have and we’re going to try like crazy to win these games. As a competitor, that’s all you have left and that’s what we’re going to do.”

With first-and-10 at the Titans 25, Sanchez lined up in the shotgun but couldn’t grab a low snap that running back Bilal Powell inadvertently kicked away.

Titans rookie linebacker Zach Brown covered it up to seal the win.

“We had our chance and fell flat on (our) face,” Jets linebacker Calvin Pace said.