Aaron Rodgers reminds us that the Jets' season is more than one week

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers was happy with how his body felt after playing in a game and getting hit for the first time in just under a year. He credited the Jets’ offensive line for that.

“I got hit twice and kicked once,” Rodgers said. “That’s a pretty good night for a 40-year-old.”

He tore his left Achilles one year ago Wednesday. Rodgers said he “had forgotten” about it until he received a text from someone Wednesday morning reminding him.

“We go into the Groundhog Day mindset being a Wednesday and we’re on to the next opponent,” Rodgers said before the Jets began preparing for Sunday’s game against Tennessee. “Like I said before the game last week, there was a lot of emotion, a lot of perspective and gratitude. A lot’s changed in a year. I’m glad to still be playing and still healthy.”

Rodgers came out of the Jets’ 32-19 loss to San Francisco on Monday in a good place physically and mentally. He knows he can play better and is confident that the offense will too.

The Jets’ defense took the heat for their loss, allowing the 49ers to score on eight straight possessions. Rodgers countered that the offense could have done more to sustain drives and keep the defense off the field.

“In those situations we’ve got to help our defense out,” Rodgers said. “If it takes 30 to win, we’ve got to score 30. It wasn’t good enough on our part.”

Rodgers completed 13 of 21 passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He showed glimpses of his brilliance, throwing lasers to Allen Lazard for two explosive plays, including a 36-yard touchdown. Rodgers and Garrett Wilson also had some nice connections.

Overall, though, the Jets’ offense was ineffective and not nearly as all-inclusive as expected.

Six of their first seven series ended in three plays or fewer. Lazard and Breece Hall dropped passes. Hall fumbled once. The run game never got going. Rodgers’ interception was a bad pass into coverage. He also missed a fourth-down throw to Wilson.

The ball wasn’t spread around either. Only Lazard, Wilson and Hall caught passes from Rodgers, who only targeted normally productive tight end Tyler Conklin once.

“Every game is going to present different opportunities for different guys,” Robert Saleh said. “The flow of the game dictated and the results were what they were.”

Rodgers said the reason Conklin, Jeremy Ruckert, Xavier Gipson and Mike Williams weren’t involved was because the Jets only ran 49 plays.

“The most important thing is for those guys to remember it’s a long season and we’re trying to get the ball to everybody,” Rodgers said. “I hope nobody’s getting frustrated. It’s one week. We want to get Mike involved, we want to get X involved, we want to get our tight ends involved. It’s going to happen.”

Rodgers also wants to get the ball to Wilson more. He had six catches for 60 yards on 11 targets.

“That would seem like a lot to most people,” Rodgers said. “But I remember joking with Davante [Adams] about that and it was never enough.”

Rodgers anticipated that there would be overreacting from outside the building no matter what happened on Monday. He tried to calm the masses.

“It’s a long season,” Rodgers said. “I think at times people think the season is like you’re out in the prairie or the desert and you’re wandering around trying to find water. But it’s more like a nice, slow bolero where we’re just swaying with the music and reacting to whatever comes to us and through us.

“I get it. We want to win. The fans want to win. The organization wants to win. The process has to be the same. If it’s good enough in Week 1, it’s good enough in the playoffs. We got to stick with the process and the preparation and the way that goes and trust that it’s good enough, like a nice smooth bolero.”

Welcome back, McGovern

The Jets brought back a familiar face to strengthen their offensive line depth.

Veteran center Connor McGovern was signed to the Jets’ practice squad Wednesday. Running back Xazavian Valladay was released from the practice team.

The Jets need depth on the interior of the offensive line with backup center/guard Wes Schweitzer (hand) on injured reserve for at least the next three games. Xavier Newman and Jake Hanson were the Jets’ backup interior linemen in Monday’s loss to the 49ers.

McGovern was the Jets’ starting center the past four seasons, appearing in 55 games, before he suffered a dislocated kneecap in their Week 8 win over the Giants last year. After getting hurt, McGovern helped mentor his replacement, rookie Joe Tippmann on playing center in the NFL.

Two-minute drill

Williams only played nine snaps Monday and wasn’t targeted. Saleh said they wanted to get Williams, who is returning from a torn ACL, 15 snaps but couldn’t because of the Jets’ lack of plays. Williams' snaps should increase each week . . . Cornerbacks D.J. Reed (knee soreness) and Michael Carter II (ankle) were limited. Saleh expects them to play Sunday,

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.