Commanders’ ugly loss comes with a silver lining: In a dreadful Christmas Eve matchup between teams eliminated from playoff contention at mostly empty MetLife Stadium, the Jets won on Greg Zuerlein’s 54-yard field goal in the final seconds.

It was just the Jets’ second victory in the Washington, which erased a 27-7 halftime deficit before seeing its losing streak stretch to six, improved its chances of securing a top-three pick in next year’s draft. Happy holidays, Commanders fans.

Coming into the day, ESPN gave the Commanders an 81 percent chance of picking in the top three if they were to lose their final three games.

The Jets, who now have won four straight against Washington dating from 2011, were by far the weakest opponent remaining on the Commanders’ schedule.

Ron Rivera’s squad will close with games against the 49ers and Cowboys at FedEx Field; San Francisco and Dallas figure to be playing for playoff position.

One week after being benched in the fourth quarter of Washington’s loss to the Rams, Howell had another miserable performance against one of the league’s better defenses.

The second-year pro started 1 for 9 for 16 yards, including three drops and an interception.

He was 6 for 22 for 56 yards before the Commanders pulled him in favor of Jacoby Brissett after he threw his second interception midway through the third quarter.

Howell’s first interception slipped through the hands of tight end Logan Thomas, and his second pick came after wideout Curtis Samuel tripped, but he didn’t play well even when his receivers weren’t letting him down.

The Commanders punted on six of their eight first-half possessions and failed to convert a third down before Brissett entered and led three consecutive touchdown drives to turn a 27-7 deficit into a 28-27 lead. Brissett finished 10 for 13 for 100 yards.

Commanders couldn’t have scripted a better start if they were trying to lose, looking completely out of sorts in all three phases from the opening kickoff.

One snap after Samuel dropped a short pass from Howell on Washington’s first play from scrimmage, Jets safety Tony Adams intercepted a pass that deflected off Thomas’s hands, leading to a field goal.

The Commanders went three-and-out on their second possession, which ended with Jermaine Johnson II blocking Tress Way’s punt from Washington’s end zone. Three plays later, New York scored its second first-quarter touchdown of the season.

On the Jets’ next drive, which began at the Washington 42 after another three-and-out, running back Breece Hall raced 36 yards untouched up the middle for a touchdown that extended New York’s lead to 17-0 less than six minutes into the game.

Before Sunday, the Jets had managed 20 points in the first quarter all season.