The Jets (5-12) finished the 2024 NFL season with a 32-20 win over the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium in Week 18. Here are three takeaways from the season.
One for the History Books
Aaron Rodgers' first full season playing with the Jets resulted in one of the best statistical seasons in franchise history for a quarterback, even though the team did not meet its expectations.
Rodgers, 41, played all 17 games coming off an Achilles tendon injury and finished with 3,897 passing yards, the third most in a season for the Green & White. His 28 touchdowns also rank No. 3 in franchise history in a season.
The offense, however, finished No. 24 in the league in yards per game (310.3) and No. 24 in points per game (19.9).
"There were questions about the last few months, some from you all, some from people that I talked to, about did I regret coming to New York?" Rodgers told reporters after Sunday's game. "And the answer is of course not. The follow up is usually, 'Well, why is that the case?' And I talked about what really is important in this game and that's the relationships.
"I would have had a big hole inside me that only these two years could have filled. When I say these have been the best two years of my life, I don't just mean those relationships. Off the field, there's been a lot of really special things that've happened. If I hadn't come to New York, these relationships that are really important to me, many of which are going to last a long, long time, never would have happened and I would have really missed out on meeting some really special people."
Emergence of Young Defenders
The injury bug bit the Jets defense, but a pair of young defenders -- LB Jamien Sherwood and edge rusher Will McDonald IV -- announced themselves as pillars of the defense.
Sherwood, the Curtis Martin Team MVP, became a full-time starter at Mike linebacker for the injured C.J. Mosley in Week 3 and his 95 solo tackles tied the league lead. Sherwood, a fifth-round pick in 2021, finished with 154 total tackles, tied for the fourth most in the NFL. He became the second Jets player to reach 150 tackles in a season since 2006 (Mosley).
Sherwood, who has an expiring contract, did not enter the year with similar external expectations like the ones placed on McDonald. McDonald, who took 184 snaps as a rookie, soared on the scene in Year 2. The Iowa State product took 758 snaps and produced at a high level despite the team losing Pro Bowl edge rusher Jermaine Johnson in Week 2 to a torn Achilles tendon.
McDonald led the Jets with 10.5 sacks, the 10th most in a season in franchise history, and 24 quarterback hits. His 11 tackles for loss ranked second on the team and led all defensive linemen.
"I know I've spoken of this in the past, but his off-field stuff went to a whole another place," interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said Monday. "His nutrition, his lifting habits, all the preparation, all the stuff you don't see went to another level. He just became a pro in front of our eyes and as a coach, you just yearn for those moments. That is reflected in the way he plays and you hope that there's that positive reinforcement that the process is right, so the play is right and it happened. All that hard work paid off and you saw all that.
"You saw a stronger, faster, more explosive player out there. Just to watch this last game is astounding that his legs look like it's Week 1. His burst, the bounce and the lightness in his steps is just so unique. This young man is just scratching the surface of what he can become, so I'm a huge Will McDonald fan for the player he is and even more so for the human being that he is."
A Game of Inches
The Jets flirted with victory in most of their games but had difficulty closing them out.
The Green & White's 5 wins in the 2024 season could have easily doubled if not for the 3-7 record in one-score games. The team held a fourth-quarter lead in six of its losses.
The Jets, however, found a winning formula later in the season and won two of the final four contests with game-winning or game-sealing drives. In a seesaw Week 15 game against the Jaguars, the Green & White put together a 7-play, 70-yard touchdown drive with 1:08 remaining to win.
In the season finale, QB Aaron Rodgers led the offense on a 9-play, 70-yard scoring series to put the game on ice and was capped by Rodgers' season-high fourth TD pass.
