GLENDALE — Only the Jets could promise a season full of hope and high expectations to their suffering faithful and turn it into a butt-fumble.
Only the Jets can turn the planned Desert Storm operation into a regular season Mud Bowl.
Aaron Rodgers fell to the ground at the Arizona 9-yard line early in the third quarter. With State Farm Stadium roaring, he missed two third-and-goal attempts, lost a fumble due to a sack, and gave up enough points. His brain needs to go to the tent for examination.
At that point, the Cardinals were up 24 and the Jets were on their way to 6. The Cardinals were on their way to 31 and the Jets were on their way to 6.
Rodgers was brought here for savior fanfare, to win these games, to laugh in the face of adversity, to cheer up all the Jets in desperate times, and to instill belief in his team and throughout the team. Ta.
And the long, agonizing flight home carried a future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback, a season he couldn't save, and a team and franchise he couldn't save from itself.
Same old Rodgers, quarterback of Dead Team Walking.
Team dysfunction, please take a bow.
Woody Johnson, take a bow. The dismissal of Robert Saleh had no effect. The acquisitions of Davante Adams and Haason Reddick didn't work out.
And Aaron Rodgers didn't work out.
Pass/Fail Grade: Fail.
The super grand vision was an illusion and a delusion.
And the long, agonizing flight home carried a future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback, a season he couldn't save, and a team and franchise he couldn't save from itself.
At 3-7, the Jets are still mathematically alive.
But not mentally, emotionally, spiritually.
The Dead team is limping and crawling toward missing the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season.
The 40-year-old quarterback is no longer the Rodgers of old, and a failed season left him in the desert.
The Cardinals were the more desperate team. That's shameful. The Cardinals wanted more of it. That's embarrassing. The Cardinals were a more physical team. The Jets were a softer team.
This so-called dream team is every Jets fan's nightmare.
For Rogers, there was no oasis in the desert, no fountain of youth where he could look and feel forever young.
He has lifted teams through their most desperate times, and not this time or now.
The 40-year-old's body was rejuvenated after 10 days of rest, and there was optimism within the Jets that this would be the beginning of a long shot in the playoffs.
The offensive line, which was depleted in the game against the Texans, returned unscathed.
Adams and Garrett Wilson are ready to reignite the fire.
Same old Rodgers, quarterback of Dead Team Walking.
Rodgers targeted Adams twice in the first half, once went nowhere due to an apparent miscommunication, and twice in the third quarter he threw into the end zone.
Kyler Murray toyed with a Jets defense, aptly known as Gang Green, that was undisciplined and often incapable of professional tackling. Murray threw for 199 yards in the first half. Rodgers threw for 40 yards, trying to establish a running game.
Midway through the second quarter, the Jets showed no signs of fighting, even after Quincy Williams' violent sack sent Murray's helmet flying.
Here's how the Jets defense responded. On third-and-10, Murray hit TE Trey McBride for 13 yards, and Murray hit Marvin Harrison Jr. against DJ Reed for a 9-yard TD to make it 21-6.
Already in the end zone, Reed's pass interference set up Murray's 1-yard TD jog near the left side, and Sauce Gardner was shrugged off for a 17-yard gain on McBride's third-and-7 and a missed tackle by Jaylen. Mills completed a 44-yard reception for James Conner.
And the Jets knew who Murray was.
“For one thing, he can make every throw on the field,” safety Jalen Mills said. “Two, once he gets out of the pocket, he's not a quarterback anymore, he's a running back with 4.3 speed, and that makes him very dangerous when you can't contain him. So for us as a whole defense, it's going to take all 11 of us to contain this guy and keep him in the pocket, and that's going to be difficult.”
Murray scored two rushing TDs and finished with a record of 22 wins, 24 losses, and 1 TD.
“When he gets out of the pocket, he does some crazy things,” Javon Kinlaw said.
And they knew who Connor was.
“A guy who makes a one-arm tackle can’t beat him,” Mills said. “You've got to do it with all 11 guys. It's got to be a gang tackle game. You've got to beat him on all three levels. You can't rely on one guy to beat him.”
Connor caught five passes for 80 yards and a rushing TD.
“I know James Conner very well,” Kinlaw said. “He's definitely one of them.” of He's certainly the most physical running back in the league.
“You have to get your body on him all the time. When you gang tackle him, you have to do it over and over again. I feel like it tires him out a little bit. But there's not much he can do, he's just a great football player.”
Same old Rodgers, quarterback of Dead Team Walking.
