New York Jets fans have had to wait a long time to see Aaron Rodgers play at MetLife Stadium, and last season’s four games don’t count.
If this is what Jets fans can expect for the rest of the season, it will be a great time.
Rodgers looked like his best, the Jets offense ran smoothly in every way, and the defense was absolutely dominant, beating the New England Patriots 24-3. As much as the Patriots were derided in the offseason, they beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 and lost to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime last week. They weren’t bad. On Thursday night, the Patriots were absolutely outgunned. With 4:24 left in the game and the outcome already decided, the Jets had 400 yards of offense and the Patriots had just 93. That could tell us a lot about the Jets.
The Jets have had abysmal quarterback play in each of the last two seasons, but still won seven games each season thanks to a great defense and some stars at the skill positions. When the Jets and their fans dreamed about how good they could be with above-average quarterback play, they envisioned what we saw Thursday night. Rodgers completed 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
In the third quarter, the home crowd broke into an “Aaron Rodgers!” chant. Rodgers motioned for the Jets fans to be quiet because the offense had the ball. They continued singing for a little while, though.
Jets strong from the start
The night started well for the Jets. Rodgers was clearly focused and throwing in rhythm. A first drive stalled due to a holding penalty, but the second drive ended with an Allen Lazard touchdown by Rodgers. The third drive ended with a rushing touchdown by Breece Hall.
Rodgers is the Jets’ star player and he was outstanding on Thursday night. He may not have the 98-mph fastball he did when he won four MVPs in Green Bay, but he’s still in the mid-90s. Rodgers sees the field well and can throw passes with more than enough speed to get the job done. He completed 12 of his first 13 passes for 135 yards and the Jets had a 14-0 lead. He had 170 yards at halftime.
What was most surprising Thursday night was how well Rodgers moved. He’s 40 and doesn’t typically impact a game by running like he did in his physical prime, but it was questionable whether a 40-year-old quarterback fresh off a Achilles injury has any functional mobility left. Rodgers ran for a first down on the Jets’ first drive on a 5-yard run. He moved in the pocket when he needed to and threw on the move. One of his best plays came in the second half, when the Patriots blitzed on third down and the pressure increased, Rodgers came out of the pocket and hit tight end Tyler Conklin on the move for 18 yards. Rodgers showed Thursday night that his mobility isn’t really a problem.
And one of the promising aspects of Thursday night’s win was the strong support for their quarterback.
Other Jets stars come through
The Jets have a really good roster and it showed against the Patriots. Hall is one of the best running backs in the NFL and rookie Braelon Allen did an excellent job of resting Hall. New York managed 88 rushing yards in the first half. Garrett Wilson is an excellent receiver but had a tough matchup against cornerback Christian Gonzalez, so Lazard, Mike Williams and Conklin made plays. And Wilson finally made it into the end zone for a short touchdown to give New York a 21-3 lead. The offensive line did well against a solid Patriots front seven, opening up holes in the running game and keeping Rodgers mostly clean. The only bad news of the night was that right tackle Morgan Moses for the Jets limped off the field late in the third quarter with a knee injury.
The Jets’ defense was never a big problem, although it wasn’t particularly good in the opener against the San Francisco 49ers. New York seemed to be stopping the Patriots at its usual high level. New England only had 40 yards in the first half. The Jets blitzed often and the Patriots couldn’t protect Jacoby Brissett. In the final few minutes of the game, the Patriots sent in third-round draft pick Drake Maye for his first NFL start. He completed 4 of 8 passes for 22 yards and had two sacks on his only drive of the game. The Jets had more than 10 minutes of possession in each of the first three quarters, in part because the defense didn’t allow New England to move the ball.
There was a lot of talk about the Jets doing everything they could to get Rodgers to take off. If things didn’t work out this season, the Jets would have to make big changes across the board next offseason. And things didn’t look good for the first two weeks. But with Rodgers scrambling around Thursday night, looking for receivers, and the defense as stifling as ever, it seemed like it might all be worth it in the end.
