Jets' 0-1 start this year feels a little better than last year's 1-0 start. Why? Because Aaron Rodgers is healthy.

There are worse things than being 0-1.

The Jets know that more than most. They were 1-0 at this point last year and instead of celebrating it they were mourning what they recognized (even if they did not admit) was the end of their season. So as the NFL kicks into overreaction overdrive this week, with each team either euphoric or eulogized, Robert Saleh said he still feels pretty good about his group despite being outclassed in a 32-19 loss in San Francisco on Monday night.

Aaron Rodgers echoed the sentiment later in the afternoon during his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."

Fresh off the redeye flight home to New Jersey during which he studied film of the game, Saleh was asked an odd question Tuesday morning: Does it actually feel better heading into Week 2 this year than last year despite the inverse records and results?

“Unfortunately, it does,” he said. “That was a learning experience from last year, man.”

They may still be winless, but at least they are not hopeless.

That wasn’t the case after Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in the first drive of the 2023 opener. The Jets wound up beating the Bills on an overtime punt return in that game, but when they awoke the next morning to their new reality it was sobering.

This time, “the anthem hit and I just had a big calm that just came over and all the anxiety around getting hit and staying healthy left my body,” Rodgers said. “I thought overall, there were a lot of really good things…I think, in general, the messaging always was that if we won, we were going to the Super Bowl, and if we lose, we’re [expletive],” Rodgers said. “We love how passionate [the fans] are but this is a 17-game season for a reason. We’re going to hit our stride at some point.”

Saleh, meanwhile, said he was “not discouraged” by the defense that was billed as elite but was gashed for 401 yards, 180 of them on the ground. It gave up points on eight consecutive possessions for the first time in the 45 years since such stats have been kept, per Elias Sports Bureau.

“It’s going to get fixed,” he said. “Do your job. It’s as simple as that.”

As for the offense, which had two costly turnovers and five possessions of three snaps or fewer, Saleh said he saw some “good things” from the offensive line. He pointed out that the Jets ran only 49 plays to the Niners’ 70, that they trailed 13-7 midway through the second quarter and when the offense next came onto the field (besides to kneel down and end the half) it was about an hour later and they were trailing 23-7.

“I think I speak for everybody, especially on the offensive side of the ball, there is a lot of confidence on that side,” Saleh said. “I know what it looks like but I also know what the film looks like and the process of how the game happened. Our offense is going to be really good this year.”

The biggest plus — and the biggest difference between this opener and last year’s — was undoubtedly getting Rodgers through the game and onto the next one. Saleh said the quarterback came out clean despite taking several hits and a sack. He was replaced by Tyrod Taylor late in the game when the Jets were down by three scores.

This was the first time Saleh and the Jets got to see Rodgers deal with (nearly) an entire game, direct the offense, and process the result.

“There is no panic in him, for sure,” Saleh said. “He was a calm force on the sideline. [Monday] night provided a lot of closure for him in regards to finishing the game and knocking that out.”

Rodgers preached patience…or else.

“We didn’t play good enough last night,” he said. “No excuses. But come along for the ride. If you want to jump off now, jump off now, but don’t come back.”

Purdy helped by getting rid of ball quickly for 49ers

The Jets recorded three sacks but only four quarterback hits in the first regular-season game of edge rusher Haason Reddick’s holdout. “I thought San Francisco did a really good job with their game plan in regards to chips on the ends and getting rid of the ball in a timely fashion,” Saleh said. “I don’t think Brock [Purdy] really held it long enough for us to have any effect. We had some opportunities, couldn’t wrap him up and bring him down, but credit to them, they did a really nice job of getting the ball out of his hands.” Saleh gave no update on Reddick’s potential return after missing this game cost the player a game check worth roughly $800,000. “Regardless of how I feel about it we’ve got the guys who are here,” Saleh said. “As soon as he walks through those doors we’re going to give him a big hug, give him a playbook, and get rolling.”

Clean bill of health

Saleh said there were no significant injuries. CB Michael Carter left the game with an ankle injury and was cleared to return but was held out as a precaution.

With Laura Albanese

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.