New York Jets fans waited a long time to see Aaron Rodgers play at MetLife Stadium, and last season’s four-play appearance doesn’t count.
If this is what Jets fans can expect the rest of the season, it’s going to be a fun ride.
Rodgers looked like the vintage form of himself, the Jets offense was clicking in every way and the defense was absolutely dominant in wrecking the New England Patriots for a 24-3 win. For as much as the Patriots were ridiculed in the offseason, they beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 and lost in overtime to the Seattle Seahawks last week. They have not been bad. On Thursday night the Patriots were absolutely outclassed. With 4:24 left in the game and the outcome long determined, the Jets had 400 yards of offense and the Patriots had just 93. That might tell us a lot about the Jets.
The Jets had miserable quarterback play each of the past two seasons, but still won seven games each season due to a great defense and some stars at the skill positions. When the Jets and their fans dreamed of how good they could be with above average quarterback play, they were envisioning 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 started an “Aaron Rodgers!” chant. Rodgers motioned for the Jets fans to quiet down because the offense had the ball. They kept the chant going a little longer anyway.
Jets sharp from the start
The night started well for the Jets. Rodgers was clearly locked in and throwing in rhythm. A first drive stalled due to a holding penalty, but the second drive ended on an Allen Lazard touchdown from Rodgers. The third drive ended with a rushing touchdown from Breece Hall.
Rodgers is the Jets’ spotlight player and he looked excellent on Thursday night. Rodgers might not have the 98 mph fastball that he had when he was winning four MVPs, but it’s still in the mid-90s. Rodgers sees the field well and can still deliver passes with more than enough velocity to get the job done. Rodgers completed 12 of his first 13 passes for 135 yards and the Jets had a 14-0 lead. He had 170 yards at halftime.
The most surprising thing Thursday night was how well Rodgers moved. He’s 40 and won’t impact a game by running it, as he did in his physical prime, but there was a question if a 40-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles injury would have any functional mobility. Rodgers ran for first down on a 5-yard scramble on the Jets’ first drive. He moved around in the pocket when he had to and made throws on the move. One of his best plays came in the second half, when the Patriots sent a blitzer on third down and as the pressure was starting to come, Rodgers got outside the pocket and he hit tight end Tyler Conklin on the move for 18 yards. Rodgers showed on Thursday night that his mobility isn’t really a concern.
And one of the promising parts of Thursday night’s win was all the help for their quarterback.
Jets’ other stars come through
The Jets have a really good roster and it showed against the Patriots. Hall is one of the NFL’s best backs, and rookie Braelon Allen looked excellent when he gave Hall a break. New York had 88 rushing yards in the first half. Garrett Wilson is an excellent receiver but had a touch matchup against cornerback Christian Gonzalez so Lazard, Mike Williams and Conklin made plays. And Wilson ended up getting in the end zone on 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 mostly keeping Rodgers clean. The only bad news of the night was the Jets seeing right tackle Morgan Moses limp off the field with a knee injury late in the third quarter.
The Jets defense has never been much of a question, though it wasn’t great in the opener against the San Francisco 49ers. New York looked like it was on its regular level in shutting down the Patriots. New England had just 40 yards in the first half. The Jets blitzed often and the Patriots couldn’t protect Jacoby Brissett. For the final few minutes of the game, the Patriots put in No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye for his first NFL snaps. The Jets had more than 10 minutes of possession in each of the first three quarters, partially because the defense was not letting New England move the ball.
Much has been made of the Jets pushing all their chips in to try to make a run with Rodgers. If it didn’t work this season, the Jets were looking at major changes across the board next offseason. And it didn’t look great through the first two weeks. But when Rodgers was scrambling around and finding receivers on Thursday night, and the defense was as stifling as ever, it seemed like it might end up all being worth it.