Aaron Rodgers had exactly the type of performance the New York Jets envisioned when they acquired him last year.
The star quarterback was calm, cool and dominant while leading the Jets to a 24-3 rout of the New England Patriots in a happy homecoming Thursday night. And Rodgers said he’s only now starting to feel like himself again.
Big if true.
“We’ve been improving, but it hasn’t been good enough for some people outside of the rooms,” Rodgers said after the game. “So to have a performance like tonight, I don’t know how many yards we finished with, but it feels really good.”
The Jets had 400 yards and 27 first downs, thoroughly outperforming the Patriots in the home opener on a night when everything clicked.
Well, almost.
About the only thing that didn't work was a sideline celebration between Rodgers and coach Robert Saleh after Breece Hall's touchdown run put New York up 14-0 in the second quarter. The quarterback slapped hands with Saleh, who then went in for a hug — and Rodgers gave him a slight shove and walked away.
“He’s not a big hugger, usually, so I didn’t know he was going for the hug,” Rodgers said. “He likes to do the two-hand chest push as well. But he talks a lot about two-score leads, so I just kind of gave him a push and said: ‘Two-score lead.’ That’s what happened.”
They might need to practice that a little if Rodgers and the offense are going to play the way they did Thursday night.
The 40-year-old Rodgers looked spry, routinely making plays with his legs and almost making everyone forget about the torn Achilles tendon that ended last season after only four snaps.
“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, the first time he ran, I kind of started laughing in the back of my head, like he’s crazy,” Hall said. “Forty years old, Achilles is good. It was cool to see him run.”
And Rodgers' arm was even better. He was surgically precise on several throws, finishing 27 of 35 for 281 yards and two touchdowns.
The Jets scored three TDs on offense for the third straight game to start the season, the first time they’ve done that since 1989. New York had a first down on every drive, the first time it has done that since Week 3 against the Chargers in 2008.
“There's nothing fluky about the production the offense has had from a scoring standpoint,” Saleh said Friday morning. “It's just a matter of being able to do it more consistently, drive in and drive out. I think it's only going to get better as the year goes on.”
What’s working
The pass rush. After the Jets lost Jermaine Johnson to a season-ending torn Achilles tendon, there was concern New York would have trouble rushing the quarterback. And that's compounded by the fact Haason Reddick remains a contract holdout. But the Jets already have 14 sacks, including five by Will McDonald, through three games.
What needs help
Rodgers' clock management. The four-time MVP has always liked to run down the clock before plays while analyzing the defense — what Saleh says is part of the quarterback's “super power.” But Rodgers has pushed it a few times this season. Saleh had to call timeouts twice early in the second half against the Patriots to avoid delay of game penalties. It also happened against Tennessee last week.
“It's going to be a year-long thing, guys,” Saleh said with a smile. "If we have to sacrifice a couple timeouts for Aaron Rodgers to be his best, we're fine with it.”
Stock up
TE Tyler Conklin. After just two catches for 16 yards in the first two games, Conklin had a career-high 93 yards receiving on five receptions against New England. Rodgers liked to use his tight ends in Green Bay and this could be a sign of a budding rapport with Conklin.
“He’s a dog, man,” wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “He deserves everything that he did (Thursday) and what’s about to come his way because the world doesn’t know.”
Stock down
K Greg Zuerlein. It's a little bit of nitpicking after such an overall dominant performance by the team, but the usually reliable Zuerlein missed a 45-yard attempt that would've give the Jets a 17-3 halftime lead.
Injuries
Saleh said the “early feel is decent” that it isn't a season-ending knee injury for RT Morgan Moses, who left on the final play of the third quarter. Moses was having more tests Friday. ... LB C.J. Mosley sat out with a toe injury, but Saleh said if it had been later in the season he might've played and is “confident” he should be ready for the next game. “To make such a small injury worse, in the grand scheme of things it probably wouldn't have been worth it,” Saleh said.
Key number
10 of 15 — That's what the Jets did on third down against the Patriots, the first time they had at least 10 conversions in a game since 2017.
What’s next
After three games in 11 days to start the season, the Jets get a few days off before preparing for a home game against Denver on Sept. 29.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press
