With ‘season on the line,’ Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams sparked Jets, Aaron Rodgers. Now what?

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey – Facing third-and-19, down three points early in the fourth quarter, Aaron Rodgers made a decision.

If the weakside safety were to go down, the New York Jets quarterback would give Garrett Wilson a chance.

Then Rodgers dropped back and threw a 47-yard pass to his receiver, who would ultimately be just 0.8 yards from the defender, according to Next Gen Stats.

Wilson extended his right arm while in the air so spectacularly that his teammates would soon be quick to compare him to Michael Jordan’s Jumpman, or Odell Beckham Jr.’s famous one-handed catch in the same stadium, or with both.

As Wilson advanced his left hand to secure the ball, his left foot hit the end zone, his right foot still well above his hips. The Jets’ 2022 first-round pick fell on his left side, hesitating to celebrate while wondering if he had adjusted to the NFL’s sometimes-seemingly changing definition of a catch.

Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich disputed the incomplete pass ruling.

“Just for the sake of posterity, it must be said that this is fashionable,” Ulbrich told the official half-jokingly. “So that it goes down in history.”

It turned out that posterity alone was not necessary. Replay confirmed that Wilson’s left shin hit the end zone.

Rodgers to Wilson, 26 yards, touchdown.

“A game-changing play,” Rodgers said.

The weaknesses of the first half faded into their memories as the momentum of a star athlete making a clutch play swept the sideline. For the first time in more than three quarters, the Jets had the lead.

The Jets beat the Houston Texans 21-13 on Thursday night to snap a five-game losing streak and secure their first win in four tries during Ulbrich’s tenure.

They improved to 3-6 to stay alive in the playoff race, finding a different offensive rhythm than the franchise had seen in a season and a half of the Rodgers era.

A crowd at MetLife Stadium that booed and jeered loudly in the first half erupted into JETS chants as the night wore on. A home locker room that had gone silent after a primetime loss to the Buffalo Bills earlier this month now turned on the speakers as they exchanged dejected looks for smiles and confusion for confidence.

A win over a productive but shaky Texans team is not the Jets’ ultimate goal. But to start it was necessary to win somewhere, and even Rodgers admitted how disheartening another loss would have felt.

“It was kind of the season on the line in the second half,” Rodgers said. “Obviously, mathematically we would not have been eliminated. But mentally, getting to 2-7 would have been very, very difficult. Hopefully this gives us confidence to be able to beat anyone because we feel like we can do it. The way we played offense in the second half is the way we were waiting for this offense to wake up.

“That was close to perfect as it needed to be. That’s the standard I need to play by. “There were a lot of really incredible performances.”

At halftime all that was in doubt.

After Rodgers struggled mightily in the first half, the Jets were on the brink

Rodgers didn’t sweeten his 7-of-14 passing attempts for 32 yards before halftime.

On the first play of the game, Rodgers really missed his old friend and receiver Davante Adams. Rodgers targeted Adams with a flick, but instead threw the pass out of bounds.

Soon after, Rodgers threw to Adams and he wasn’t looking.

This was not the chemistry two players expected nine years (although not consecutively) of partnership. This wasn’t the caliber of play a four-time MVP quarterback and six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver planned to play.

Rodgers joked with Adams that they were “even” after they each blew a play.

“Although we really weren’t because, God, the first one was so bad,” Rodgers said. “I played as poorly as I could in the first half and knew I had to get better from there. … I mean, I was terrible.”

Rodgers was in good company playing poorly, as several receivers dropped his passes and running back Breece Hall fumbled (the Jets recovered). Rookie receiver Malachi Corley nearly scored a 19-yard touchdown on a jet sweep before replay review revealed that Corley’s celebratory ball drop just before crossing the jet and therefore was a touchback instead of a touchdown.

Plus, with Jets defenders missing tackles and a special teams play giving the Texans a first down to manhandle the center, Jets fans had reasons beyond Halloween to be scared.

Thomas Morstead’s 75-yard punt to the 2-yard line was the highlight of the Jets’ first half.

But the Jets had told themselves: adversity was going to come. How will we respond?

For the first time in six weeks, they found answers.

After two quarters with five punts and a fumble, the Jets scored touchdowns on three straight drives to close out the game.

Hall continued to find rhythm. But this time Rodgers did it too.

That 7-of-14, 32-yard first half turned into a 15-of-18, 179-yard, three-touchdown second half.

Wilson’s acrobatic Jumpman was his second comprehensive touchdown, his first a 21-yard touchdown on the opening drive after halftime that the Jets knew could dictate their momentum.

Wilson ran a drag route and saw Rodgers spying on him “at the last second.”

Texans safety Jalen Pitre jumped for the ball and fell, clearing the way for Wilson to drive another one-handed grab 14 more yards to the end zone.

The Jets defense continued to capitalize on Houston’s porous offensive line, limiting it to one field goal and clearing the way to finally take the lead.

But then Rodgers and Wilson were 1 yard short on third down.

Then Rodgers relied on Adams 17 yards down the left sideline and fourth-and-1 melted down the continuation of a drive.

This one would be finished by Adams.

And facing third-and-3, up four points with 3:02 left, Rodgers would find Adams in stride for a 37-yard touchdown.

The receiver’s first score as a Jet (after he left to be evaluated for a concussion and then was cleared to return) gave New York the cushion to win.

What’s next for the Jets team trying to stop the spiral?

What’s at stake in this Jets victory is complicated.

There are implications for the team, generally speaking, five days before the trade deadline. And there are implications for Rodgers, specifically, about a month before his 41st birthday.

The Jets’ initial expectations for this season are still far from being met. The Buffalo Bills (6-2) are still 3.5 games ahead of the Jets in the division, and the Miami Dolphins are just a half-game behind New York.

The Athletic’s playoff predictor pegs the Jets’ chance of making the postseason at 17%.

And yet, only one of the Jets’ eight remaining regular-season opponents enters this weekend above .500. If the Jets find their groove and a host of injured players recover during the 10-day layoff they have now and the layoff two weeks later, it’s not impossible to imagine a talented roster bouncing back.

Expect the team’s track record and approach to influence Ulbrich’s chances of coaching a group of players who highly respect him through 2025.

In the meantime, Rodgers will have to determine how much longer he wants to play and will be able to do so.

Against the Patriots last week and in the first half on Thursday, he looked like he was 40 years old. The water and cayenne pepper concoction he called his “fountain of youth” didn’t work in rooms one and two.

But Rodgers was more agile in the second half, and his decision-making and accuracy were also sharper. He struggled emphatically on a red zone play that was ultimately negated by a penalty, but it still gave him energy.

“It was a third down, I looked kind of athletic, I didn’t get hurt in the process,” Rodgers said.

Then he became reflective.

“I wanted to bring joy and passion to the game,” Rodgers said. “This has been a frustrating season at times. But I love this game. This game has done everything for me. And a little perspective, a little gratitude tonight.

“A little more passion in the second half.”

Could that extra passion continue into the second half of the season? The Jets hope so.

Rodgers did not elaborate when asked if these next eight games could be his last as a professional.

Do you think about that?

“No,” he said after a pause and a smile.

For now, as the Jets and the quarterback they bet on have moved closer to a lost season, they will savor the franchise’s first win in a long time.

The expensive quarterback, receiver and edge rusher that New York acquired in the last 18 months contributed significantly to this victory.

Players felt like they were beginning to understand the culture they hoped to forge, even if they wished it had materialized sooner.

“Suppress that feeling we have and accept it,” Adams said. “It’s not the feeling of being excited about a victory; the feeling of what it feels like to run and click and be on the same page.”

Wilson, still processing his highlight reel catch, agreed.

“We definitely just wanted to get back in the win column,” he said. “Losing five in a row feels about as expected. It doesn’t feel good. We are better than that, the most important thing, and it was time to prove it.

“We want to start our career. And the only way to do that is to win one.”