EAST RUTHERFORD – Throw and catch. That may not even do it justice. The perfect call at the perfect time had Garrett Wilson open in the end zone, nine yards from his quarterback. Aaron Rodgers I saw it. The protection was maintained. He let it fly.
This would put the Jets With three scores, the rout begins against a Seahawks team unfortunately out of balance with respect to Eastern Standard Time. Rodgers had thrown 494 touchdowns in his historic career. Few were as simple as this one.
The ball went over Wilson’s head. Rodgers threw a pick-six to the defensive lineman leonard williams on the next play. The Jets lost, 26-21. Not only did the offense not score again. They never reached the red zone.
One wonders if that could be the end of Rodgers in New York.
“It kind of changed the momentum of the game,” Rodgers said.
It’s amazing to believe it’s gotten to this point considering where it all started. A few months ago there was a lot of optimism. This was not just a playoff team, but one capable of making a legitimate run.
The offensive line: Improved. Your playmakers: Infused. His defense: intact.
However, the key to everything was Rodgers. The four-time MVP was back.
The calendar flipped to December: This month’s big games were once this team’s barometer. New York sits at 3-9. They are not officially eliminated from playoff contention, but their chances are less than one percent. One more Chargers or Broncos win, or one more Jets loss, and that will end it all.
It will be the 14th consecutive year that New York has missed the postseason — the longest drought among the four major sports leagues. They will have a losing record for the ninth consecutive year. One more loss and they will have their 10th season with double-digit losses in their last 13, including five in a row.
That’s disappointing.
Rodgers’ struggles are a microscopic spark of this franchise’s ineptitude, but this year they seem to be the mascot of it all.
“There are a lot of frustrating things,” he said.
Rodgers finished Sunday 21 of 39 (53.8 percent) for 185 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It’s the fifth time he’s finished with less than 200 yards passing. He has yet to throw for 300. His eight interceptions are tied for the second most since 2010. This for a Jets team that was once 2-3, preparing for a game in which to take sole possession of first place in the AFC East.
The 41-year-old has had to deal with injuries all year (two knees, hamstrings, ankles), but did not receive treatment this week and came off the injury report. It didn’t matter. This was, according to the EPA, its worst performance of the year. Perhaps most alarming: This was the fifth time Rodgers had the ball in his hands with a chance to drive down the field and win the game (realistic amount of time).
The Jets have not won in those games.
On Sunday, Rodgers took the Jets to the Seahawks’ 29-yard line. He threw an incomplete pass to Davante Adamsa pass to Isaiah Davis for no gain, took a sack from Williams and then threw an incomplete in the zip code of Garrett Wilson.
“Well, there’s 11 guys on the field,” Rodgers said of his struggles. “Sometimes it’s my fault. Definitely several times today. And then the details aren’t there elsewhere either.”
The Jets held a meeting, as first reported the athletic, after their loss to the Broncos, where it was suggested that Rodgers be benched in favor of veteran Tyrod Taylor. The offensive staff convinced superiors not to make such a move and the reorganization was postponed. However, it appears that it is once again being considered.
Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrichwho emphatically shut down any discussion of a quarterback change in the past, was much less definitive on Sunday. When asked about considering a quarterback, Ulbrich said, “Not so far.”
Rodgers also spoke matter-of-factly.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll figure it out when we have those conversations.”
Benching Rodgers is highly unlikely to achieve anything. Taylor is a competent backup, but not a long-term answer. Maybe he’ll provide a spark for a week (he’d certainly help the Jets stretch the ball down the field) but he’ll eventually regress to average.
However, remove Rodgers’ name and that’s when changes will be made. Rodgers hasn’t thrown for more than 250 yards since Oct. 20. The offense has scored more than 21 points only twice since Sept. 29. They have lost three in a row and eight of their last nine.
And Rodgers doesn’t take his long-term plans into account.
As SNY first reported two weeks ago, Rodgers’ return to the Jets in 2025 was “very unlikely.” They wanted a fresh start as general manager, head coach and quarterback. While Rodgers expressed a desire to return (depending on who the new general manager and head coach were), the Jets questioned whether Rodgers could take them where they wanted to go.
Rodgers, perhaps for the first time in a decade, needed to convince his team to keep him as their quarterback.
It was supposed to start this Sunday, but it fell through.
The Jets already fired Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh. Next would be Rodgers.
And, like those before him, it is increasingly clear that he may not see out the year.