Midway through the first half, there were a few moments of hope, optimism and positivity that Jets fans have rarely felt in 14 years. The defense made a stop, but then tightened up after Breece Hall fumbled the ball deep in their own half.
Aaron Rodgers then turned the clock back 7 minutes and 7 seconds.
Bing.
Bang.
VIP.
Boo.
And suddenly, Hall was in the end zone, the Jets were up 7-3 and Jets fans across New York were in ecstasy.
“Is this what a real quarterback looks like?!”
It was a message conveyed in thousands of text threads, hundreds of bars and dens and living rooms. Rodgers made it look easy, but so did Garrett Wilson. So did Hall. So did the offensive line. It was amazing. It was remarkable.
It was a freak event, we know that now. What followed was an unjustifiable, humiliating 32-19 defeat that left Rodgers on the bench and made the 3,000-mile flight home a bit more unsettling, with far more questions looming on the flight east than there had been on the west.
The offense was only able to mount one more scoring drive after the 49ers were already up 26-7, and the much-praised defense was an utter embarrassment, being overwhelmed by a San Francisco offense that was missing No. 1 fantasy football draft pick Christian McCaffrey.
That can't be taken lightly. Here's what the defense did after the first stop:
Field goal.
Field goal.
Touchdown.
Field goal.
Touchdown.
Field goal.
Field goal.
Field goal.
And then finally, he took a knee as time expired. That was a wild game. You want to be an elite defender? Nobody expects you to shut out the Niners. The Jets beat The Niners won despite not having McCaffrey, so it wasn't all that surprising that Rodgers and the offense looked lackluster for much of the night — after all, he'd only played four times total in nearly two years.
But the defense?
The defense should move.
And if this If you want to be seen as one of the best teams in the business, you have to be more than that. You have to be. Think about it. After the Jets took a 7-3 lead, the 49ers ran 44 of the game's next 51 plays. Think about it. 44 of 51.
It's a miracle the final score wasn't worse.
Nobody was happy about this. Well, almost nobody. Maybe Haason Redick was ecstatic, but the only person happy was his agent. Before Monday, it seemed like he had very little leverage in the salary dispute with the Jets. Now it's hard to believe he won't be signed by midday.
That's it.
And let's not forget: There are 16 games left on the schedule that could be the Jets' toughest test before the season ends. They'll be in Tennessee next week, but anyone who watched Sunday's game against the Titans would have to believe the Jets can pull off a win in Nashville.
Of course, it's worth mentioning that Tennessee was probably watching this game as well, and no doubt thinking the same thing.
So next week's game may not be a must-watch (it's hard to call any game a must-watch this early), but it'll be close. Good. It'll be good to see what the Jets can do after this disaster while staring into the abyss. It should be a more impressive game than when they were just staring down Brock Purdy.
