Over the past two seasons, the New York Jets’ message has rarely changed. If they could get good quarterback play, they would be a title contender.
Aaron Rodgers was back in Week 1, and unlike last season, his season debut lasted more than four snaps. But it mostly felt like the same old story with the Jets.
Rodgers led an offense that had just one effective drive in the first 43 minutes of the game, allowing the San Francisco 49ers to take a 26-7 lead. He threw another touchdown later to Allen Lazard that saved his night, but it didn’t matter much in the 32-19 loss. Rodgers finished 13-of-21 passing for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Because it’s Rodgers and the Jets and everyone was watching Monday night, the overreactions will be fierce. Someone once saidRELAX. It’s a game, Rodgers wasn’t that bad and it wasn’t a good situation for him to come back either.
It had been a long time since Rodgers had played a game that mattered, if you don’t count his four snaps in last season’s opener before he tore his Achilles tendon. His last game with the Green Bay Packers was Jan. 8, 2023. But when Rodgers settled in for a big first-quarter burst, he didn’t look like a 40-year-old quarterback coming off a major injury who hadn’t played even a handful of snaps in 20 months.
The connection between Rodgers and Garrett Wilson was obvious. When Rodgers completed 6 of 7 passes for 61 yards on his first drive as a Jet, Wilson caught four of those balls for 46 yards. It looked really good. Then the 49ers defense started digging.
The only thing Rodgers has to prove is that he can still have some functional mobility. He won’t move in the pocket or run like he did with the Packers. If he’s a statue, that’ll be a challenge. When the 49ers started to pressure him in the second quarter, the offense stalled. New York had just 5 yards in the second quarter.
The good news is that the Jets won’t have to face many defenses as good as the 49ers. San Francisco is always investing in its defensive line and it shows. It’s not fair to judge Rodgers based solely on his first game against one of the NFL’s best defenses, and on the road, at that. A lot of quarterbacks will struggle against San Francisco, and some rust shouldn’t be surprising, especially after Rodgers sat out the entire preseason.
Rodgers was the NFL’s all-time leading passer heading into Monday night’s game, and a big reason why is that he rarely throws interceptions. From 2011 to 2021, he never had a season with more than eight interceptions. But he did have one Monday night, and it was his fault. Rodgers hesitated, forced a pass on Wilson while he was covered, the ball deflected and went straight to linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. The Jets were down 23-7 at the point and they weren’t getting back at the 49ers.
A match, especially after more than a year and a half of inactivity against…