For Jets' Aaron Rodgers, seeking his 500th touchdown pass, this was not what he had in mind
Von Miller of the Buffalo Bills sacks Aaron Rodgers of the Jets during the third quarter at Highmark Stadium on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y. Credit: Getty Images/Bryan M. Bennett
ORCHARD PARK
Aaron Rodgers was hoping for a memorable afternoon, and there it was, all set up for something special.
The Jets were at the Bills’ 12-yard line midway through the second quarter on Sunday at Highmark Stadium, trailing by seven points.
Rodgers’ football BFF, Davante Adams, was lined up in the slot, and with his 500th career touchdown pass — and a competitive game against an NFL power — within easy reach, there was no doubt where Rodgers would look.
Sure enough, he threw it toward Adams. But the Bills’ Greg Rousseau got a hand on the ball and tipped it, and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips intercepted it.
“We had it blocked up good,” Rodgers said after the game. “It would’ve been an explosive play. The guy just tipped the ball.”
Said Adams, “I think [Rodgers] just looked my way and tried to get a quick one to me and the guy tipped it up and picked it.”
Thus a potential dream day began to turn into a nightmare for the Jets’ seemingly soon-to-be-ex-quarterback. Plenty of memorable things happened, all of them bad.
The Jets lost, 40-14, and Rodgers was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor with 12:37 left and the Jets trailing 40-0.
“It’s kind of like the season; it just got away from us,” Rodgers said. “Too many games got away from us. This game got away from us. We were moving the ball well and just hit a wall and that’s kind of been the season.”
The future Hall of Famer, now 4-12 as a starter this season, finished 12-for-18 for 112 yards with two interceptions. He also was sacked four times — on the way to becoming the most-sacked quarterback in NFL history — and most absurdly of all, this:
On Rodgers’ second interception, caught by Christian Benford in the third quarter, Rodgers shoved Benford as he was going out of bounds.
It resulted in the first unnecessary-roughness penalty of Rodgers’ career, according to ESPN, although Rodgers recalled once getting a 15-yarder in a playoff game.
It was one of 16 penalties against the Jets but also served as comic relief on a ridiculous day.
“I don’t think I pushed him very hard,” Rodgers said. “I was just chasing down the play.”
Surely there was some frustration involved in Rodgers’ action.
“I just thought in his defense he was going to erase a mistake,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “He busted his butt over there.”
Tight end Tyler Conklin said even one of the officials got a laugh out of the play.
“I don’t really know what to say about that,” Conklin said. “He was taking a little bit of frustration out.”
That play immediately followed the one on which Rousseau and DaQuan Jones took down Rodgers for his 566th career sack, surpassing Tom Brady’s NFL mark. “Yeah, got Tom on that,” Rodgers joked.
Rodgers was made aware he was approaching the record during a broadcast production meeting leading up to the game. He hardly was the only culprit for the Jets, who helped the Bills (13-3) clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.
“Absolutely, it’s frustrating, it’s embarrassing, it’s maddening, it’s all that,” Ulbrich said.
Ulbrich said that barring an injury, Rodgers will start the season finale at MetLife Stadium against the Dolphins, which is the right move with No. 500 in reach.
But after that, there appears to be increasingly little point in bringing him back for 2025 under new football management.
It then will be up to Rodgers whether he tries to catch on with another team.
Asked about his future, he said simply, “I’m going to enjoy next week and then take some mental and physical rest.”
Sunday’s meltdown presumably gave him — and the Jets — more to think about.
“The competitor that he is and just based off the way the season is going, it’s hard for me to envision him being done,” Adams said.
“But that’s not something that I think to talk to him about. You have to let people think [on their own] about those types of situations.”
Adams said he thinks about how long he wants to keep doing this, and he is in his 11th season, not his 20th.
“If he were to step away, you can’t blame a guy,” Adams said. “He’s put his everything into this game. He’s been one of the best quarterbacks ever to play this game, and no matter what happens from this moment on, you can’t take that away from him.
“Being 40 years old and playing this game at the level expected is not easy to do. But he’s fought through, he’s done a hell of a job statistically trying to bounce back.
“Obviously, we haven’t won the games, but he’s done a good job and I’ve been proud of him and I let him know that every time we get out on the field.”
Adams might have only one more chance to say it to his old friend.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
