Aaron Rodgers, Jets hoping for another Thursday night win
Aaron Rodgers of the Jets looks for a receiver during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Jets’ most complete game of the season and Aaron Rodgers’ best performance happened on a Thursday night. On the six-week anniversary of that rare occasion, they hope to be able to do it again.
That was the last time the Jets won — Sept. 19 at MetLife Stadium in their home opener.
Robert Saleh was still the coach. The Jets were riding high at 2-1 after a dominant 24-3 win over the Patriots. All the sports talk shows started calling the Jets legitimate Super Bowl contenders and Rodgers said the Jets have to learn how to handle success.
A lot has changed since then.
Saleh was fired less than three weeks later. The Jets have lost five straight, some of them in excruciating fashion, and now their season is on life support going into their Halloween game at MetLife against the Texans.
“Just got to win, baby,” Rodgers said.
The Jets (2-6) have been in this position far too many times over the past 13 playoff-less years. They’re trying to stay relevant and make their December games meaningful.
If the Jets continue to slip up, this will go down as one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. They have really done a number on their fans, but Rodgers is imploring them to stick with this team
“Smile, show up, trust, believe, root us on as hard as you can,” he said. “We need that noise. We’re trying to rectify this as quickly as possible. I know it’s been frustrating for everybody, but there’s still a lot of season left.”
So much was expected with Rodgers coming back from a left Achilles tendon tear that cost him all but four snaps of last season. The Jets upgraded the offensive line and added weapons to the receiver room in the offseason. Two weeks ago, the Jets acquired perennial Pro Bowl receiver Davante Adams.
The results have been the same. The offense, defense and kicking game are all underperforming. Time is running out on the Jets salvaging this season.
“The way this season is and the way this game is we’re a couple of plays from 4-4, a couple more from 5-3, a couple more from 6-2,” Rodgers said. “The reality is we’re 2-6. Our backs are against the wall. We’ve got to make some plays and win some games.”
The Jets are one game out of last place in the conference. The 6-2 Texans are tied for second in the AFC.
They’re coming in without their top two receivers, Nico Collins (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear Sunday. But Houston boasts the No. 2 defense, a good running game with Joe Mixon leading it and dynamic second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Jets contained Stroud in a win last year in what was former Jets quarterback Zach Wilson’s best game of his career. Their defense isn’t the same though. They let the Patriots, who were next-to-last in scoring, put together a game-winning touchdown drive in Sunday’s 25-22 loss.
“That's finishing time and something we preach around here, and it's not to the standard,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said.
That was the fourth loss during this Jets’ skid that was by six points or fewer. It’s easy to say if kicker Greg Zuerlein hadn’t missed five field goals and an extra point over the course of those games, the Jets would have three more wins. But the Jets’ problems go deeper than that.
Rodgers hasn’t been as sharp as he would like. He has seven touchdowns passes and six interceptions during this losing streak.
The 40-year-old quarterback did come out of the Patriots game feeling good physically. Rodgers half-jokingly attributed it to a “fountain of youth” drink prescribed to him by punter Thomas Morstead: cayenne pepper with water.
Rodgers saying he feels “really good” is a good sign for the Jets. He also likes Thursday night games. Rodgers — 12-6 in his career on games played on Thursdays — was efficient and moved well in the last one, throwing for 281 yards and two touchdowns and scrambling for 18 yards six weeks ago.
After this game, the Jets will have 10 days off to recover and get ready for another must-win in Arizona on Nov. 10. If the Jets lose Thursday, there could be even more changes before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
“My mindset is we can still win out,” cornerback D.J. Reed said. “That’s my mindset, which might sound crazy to a lot of people. That’s how I approach it. I feel like we can still win out because we have the team to do so.
“Does everybody feel like that? I don’t know, but that’s how I feel. I still think it’s possible to make this right. It just starts with winning this Thursday night game.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
