Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams rediscover old magic as Jets finally win a close one

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams put on a show Sunday in a game that felt like old times for them.

The former Green Bay teammates played brilliantly in the second half and helped lift the Jets to a 32-25 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium.

Rodgers threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Adams caught nine passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns — all after halftime — including the 100th of his NFL career.

“Today was one of those days in the second half, it definitely felt very similar to the way we used to get it rolling,” Adams said.

The Jets (4-10) snapped their losing streak at four games by playing the way everyone envisioned with Rodgers running the offense and after Adams was acquired in October. The Jets scored more than 30 points for the first time this season, 15 of them coming in the final 3:24 of the game.

This was the eighth time this season that Rodgers had the ball in the final minutes with a chance to tie or give the Jets the lead. It’s the first time the Jets won.

Breece Hall’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:05 left gave the Jets the lead. Sauce Gardner then picked off Mac Jones at the Jets’ 13 with 37 seconds left. It was Gardner’s first interception since 2022.

“It was just great for the game to be on the line and Mac Jones throw the ball at me,” Gardner said. “It was great to just be able to close the game.”

The afternoon belonged to Adams and Rodgers, though. It was the second-biggest receiving day in Adams’ career (206 yards in 2021), but when he racked them up was most significant.

Adams caught four passes for 139 yards and a touchdown in the final 4:19 of the game. His 135 yards in the final four minutes of regulation were the most by any player in a game this century, according to ESPN.

He also caught a two-point conversion and nearly had another touchdown. Adams was tackled at the 1, setting up Hall’s game-winning touchdown.

When Rodgers was asked if it felt like old times, he said, “It did. Except he dropped one and I missed him on the next play. Tae’s a fantastic player. He dropped the one, said he got his dreads pulled. It seems like an excuse. And then we had a third down and we went to [Garrett Wilson], Tae was wide open. He kind of came back and said ‘what, you don’t trust me anymore?’ with a wry smile.”

Rodgers, who completed 16 of 30 passes, kept going back to Adams after having a little conversation with him before the third quarter.

“Aaron gave me one of those looks and said, ‘I need you this half,’ ” Adams said. “I came out and was able to make some plays. Once you get in a groove sometimes, your hands are like a magnet to the ball.”

Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich called their connection “historic” and “magical” and said he felt “honored” to have been there for Adams’ milestone touchdown catch.

Wilson had three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. He also had an animated exchange on the sideline with receivers coach Shawn Jefferson.

Former Patriots quarterback Jones, who was 5-0 against the Jets, finished 31-for-46 for 294 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Brian Thomas Jr. had 10 catches for 105 yards and two scores for the Jaguars (3-11).

With the Jets trailing 22-17, Rodgers found Adams across the middle and he took it 71 yards for the touchdown. Adams also caught the two-point conversion to give the Jets a 25-22 lead with 3:24 left.

The Jaguars started the next drive at their 33. On third-and-2 from the 41, Parker Washington caught a short pass and took it 29 yards to the Jets’ 30. Jones overthrew Thomas on the next third down, and Cam Little kicked a 43-yard field goal to tie it at 25-25 with 1:51 to go.

After all those near-misses — the Jets are 0-7 in games decided by six or fewer points this season — Rodgers and the offense came through.

The drive started at the 30, and Rodgers threw incomplete on first and second down. Then Adams made a brilliant over-the-shoulder catch on third down for 23 yards.

The Jets needed another third-down conversion, and they got it as Rodgers threw it to a wide-open Adams for a 41-yard catch-and-run. He was brought down at the 1.

Adams said he was undecided about whether to score or take a knee. “I don’t know if I was trying to go down,” he said. “I think I was trying to score, but there was a little indecision.”

Hall punched it in on the next play. The Jets could have run some clock, played for the field goal and given the Jaguars the ball back with minimal time left to score, but Gardner got the big takeaway.

“I wanted to be aggressive there and I wanted the points,” Ulbrich said. “They were having some success on offense. I wanted to put the nail in the coffin at the end.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.