Aaron Rodgers had his dreaded ‘Welcome to the Jets’ moment

The Jets needed Aaron Rodgers to be Superman, but he was battered and visibly frustrated, leaving a foggy, dreary afternoon at MetLife Stadium with a hot tub on his feet. He lost his mantle and lost a match that he should never have lost.

Robert Saleh and Rodgers had 10 days to prepare for the Sean Payton-Bo Knicks-Broncos game, and you would have thought it was 10 minutes…13 penalties? These are not the same old jets (I don't think so). But that's Same Old Jets crap.

This wasn't Rodgers the MVP, and this wasn't the Jets in the Super Bowl.

“I think we kind of killed ourselves. I can't say we had a great game. We missed some throws and the weather was terrible,” Rodgers said. “But so were some of my throws.”

He looked like a 40-year-old quarterback for the first time this season when he appeared limping after being under repeated pressure and suffering a fourth-quarter sack.

This was the fifth time in Rodgers' career that his offense did not score a touchdown.

“If our defense holds us to 10 points, we have to win the game 100 percent,” Rodgers said. “It's a crime and it's my responsibility. Yes, it's not enough.”

This was a comedy of mistakes. However, Rodgers (24-42, 225 yards) didn't laugh after the Broncos scored 10 points and the Jets scored nine. He was making faces (5 sacks).

He organized an undisciplined offensive unit that acted as if his rhythm had suddenly become a foreign language, with five false starts and one field goal after the first goal.

“It was so out of the ordinary for us,” Rogers said. “Sounds like an outlier. I don't know if we need to make wholesale changes based on some kind of outlier game.”

He couldn't get any closer than a missed 50-yard field goal to Greg Zuerlein in the final moments.

The 40-year-old was given one last chance with 1:27 remaining after Will Lutz missed a 50-yard field goal with no timeouts remaining. Helped by a pass interference to Riley Moss against Mike Williams, Rodgers advanced to the Denver 32, but then threw incomplete to Williams.

In the last series, he pitched three consecutive incompletions starting in the 45th inning with 2:31 remaining and was then sacked by the electric P.J. Lock.

In a desperate final two minutes, he threw a zig-zagging ball and receivers Garrett Wilson and Xavier Gipson zigged.

“We just weren’t on the same page,” Rogers said.

The Jets' two young offensive stars, Wilson (5-41, one first-quarter fumble) and Hall (10-4 rushing, 2-14 receiving), were not a factor. Rodgers and Wilson were supposed to remind everyone of Rodgers and Davante Adams, remember? Hall has had issues with his feet and false starts and needs to be utilized again in the passing game.

“There were too many mental mistakes, too many bad throws,” Rodgers said. I don't know, but our focus wasn't as sharp as it was the first three weeks. ”

A false start by left guard John Simpson on fourth-and-goal in the first inning forced Saleh to settle for a field goal. Moss' 34-yard pass interference call in the end zone on Allen Lazard preceded two Hall stuffing runs and a rushed Rodgers throwaway.

“We have to win seven games in this league to win,” Rodgers said. “We had many chances to increase our lead by two points, but we couldn't do it. That's why we lost.”

His entire operation was a huge failure. There was even a time when panicked Jets fans might have worried that a Broncos backup quarterback named Zach Wilson had hijacked Rodgers' No. 8 uniform and snuck into Jets rallies (sorry). , couldn't resist). On the flight back to Denver, did Sean Payton feel like throwing back some infamous words about 2022 Broncos head coach and current Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett? ”

Third-and-16 from Denver 20. End zone shot? No, it's a 3-yard hole run. Third and 14 at NYJ 30. Completed 6 yards to Gipson.

“We let this guy get away,” Rogers said.

For Rodgers, it was a terrifying and humbling “Welcome to the Jets” moment. The day I started to wonder if life really begins at the age of 40.