Jets start fast, then revert to their 2024 ways in another frustrating loss
Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets reacts in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
There it was, in the first quarter of a cold, sparsely attended late-season game at MetLife Stadium on Sunday: A vision of what the Jets’ season was supposed to be.
Aaron Rodgers and friends took possession at the 1-yard line after a punt by the Rams and drove 14 plays in 8:22 to score when Rodgers found Davante Adams in the back of the end zone for a leaping, 11-yard touchdown grab.
But it was more than a mere 99-yard drive. It was a thing of beauty, in which the old quarterback distributed the ball across his receiver / tight end depth chart — including a fourth-and-3 conversion to Adams.
On the touchdown — the 499th of Rogers’ NFL career — he began with a brilliant play fake, rolled right and threw the ball where only Adams could catch it, the latest example of the old friends’ chemistry.
At that point, Rodgers was 7-for-8 for 79 yards, with a passer rating of 147.4.
Then the spirit of the 2024 that might have been ran into the reality of what it is, and soon the Jets were looking at a 19-9 loss on the scoreboard, a 4-11 record in the standings and a more uncertain future than ever.
Three times they failed on fourth downs — once from their own 33-yard line — that led to points for the Rams. A devastating fumble by Rodgers set up another L.A. score.
Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said on several occasions he wanted to be “aggressive,” but the Jets apparently are not good enough to turn that philosophy into results.
The whole thing was . . . weird. The Jets offense did have some moments after the first drive, but none that involved returning to the end zone.
Rodgers said that after that opening drive, “The rhythm disappeared.”
For a while there, the notion of Rodgers returning in 2025 seemed more plausible than ever, as he had been on a hot streak in recent weeks that carried into Sunday. But now we are back to wondering what exactly the point of that would be.
Rodgers was banged up earlier in the season — and landed in the injury tent on Sunday before returning to the game — but he has managed to stay on the field.
If the Jets can be 4-11 with Rodgers, Adams, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall in the fold, what exactly is the point of running this thing back under the next coach and general manager?
Rodgers threw a curveball into his postgame comments when asked about the players’ motivation for the final two games, against the Bills and Dolphins.
“You have to figure out what it means to be a professional,” he said. “That’s an important part of building a culture. The last two weeks we can really see who’s on board moving forward and who is ready to get out.”
Rodgers said he can tell a lot by teammates’ practice and preparation habits and suggested some have been lacking. He did not name names, but the fact that he went down that road publicly at this stage was interesting.
Ulbrich does not seem to agree with Rodgers’ assessment, as he praised the effort level of “every single guy in that locker room.”
Whatever. This entire thing has become tiresome, and in some ways is even more frustrating than what is going on with the Jets’ down-the-corridor MetLife neighbors.
The Giants are simply a non-competitive shell of an NFL team. The Jets still have plenty of talent and show flashes of competence.
It just rarely translates into victories. That is the sign of a bad team.
When Adams was asked whether the frigid weather affected the game, he said it did not, then added this: “It looked like a normal game. It looked a little too normal for what we’ve put on tape this year. It was just kind of in line with that.”
By late in the game, the stadium largely was empty, as was the feeling on the Jets sideline. Everyone had to be wondering what the heck happened.
At the end of the first quarter, the Jets looked like a team that simply took too long to get its act together this season but might have a future together.
At the end of the fourth, they looked again like what their record says they are: one of the most disappointing teams in New York sports history.
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.
