Aaron Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP, was impressive throughout the 24-3 Thursday night victory over New England. He was a tidy 27-of-35 passing for 281 yards. He connected on TD passes first with Allen Lazard and then Garrett Wilson. After a challenging three games in 11 days to start the season, the Jets (2-1) ended an eight-game home losing streak against the Patriots (1-2) and have a mini-bye before facing visiting Denver on Sept. 29.
No. 1 -- 10-Yard TD Pass to Allen Lazard
On the offense's second series of the game, the Jets began at their 27-yard line after New England went three-and-out. Rodgers and the offense used 7 plays to move the ball to the NE 10-yard line, and on first down he connected with his teammate at Green Bay -- Allen Lazard -- for the game's opening score.
"I mean we had him on a little bubble and we were actually running away from the pressure, but I just felt like we were going to have 10 guys on one side of the hash and it was one-on-one to Allen and that that would probably be the better option than the run away to a dropping and then a slanting like," Rodgers said.
After dragging a defender part of the way, Lazard made a dash to his QB and presented him with the pigskin, Rodgers' first TD pass at MetLife Stadium as QB of the Jets, the 479th TD pass of his career.
"I'm just so happy for him," Lazard said of Rodgers. "To be able to make it back here, being 40 years old, coming off the Achilles, playing three games in 10 days, I'm very proud of everyone, especially him. It was just a special moment for us."
No. 2 -- 2-Yard TD Pass to Garrett Wilson
Garrett Wilson caught 5 passes (on 9 targets) in the game even though it looked like he and Rodgers were not perfectly in sync. After New England went three-and-out to start the second half, Rodgers and the Jets embarked on an 11-play, 66-yard scoring drive that ate 7:10 of clock time. From the NE 10-yard line, Rodgers found Wilson in the left flat and the slithery wide receiver eluded a tackle and made it to the 2. On the next play, Rodgers and the Jets went up by two scores on Wilson's nifty catch and lithe adjustment to hit paydirt.
Speaking about the consecutive passes to Wilson, Rodgers said: "It's one of the QB mortal sins, premeditated decision. He kind of said something coming back to the huddle like, 'Throw me the ball again,' which is great, so I said, 'OK.' So we had kind of a run-pass option there and he kind of got, he was maybe slow in his route a little bit, so I kind of double-clutched it. He's the type of guy where sometimes you feel like I've learned this, but a normal ball you think is going to be on target if a foot in front of the numbers is sometimes behind him, so I've learned to throw it even wider than I actually think. I'm glad I did. G made just, for the mere mortal, a really difficult catch, but for him, made it look easy.
No. 3 -- Rolling Out and Finding TE Tyler Conklin
Aaron Rodgers sprayed passes to eight receivers and, after not being a factor in the first two games of the season (a combined 2 catches), he connected with tight end Tyler Conklin on 5 catches for a team- and career-high 93 yards, with the lion's share of the yards coming with Rodgers scooting out of the pocket. On the Jets' third scoring drive, which made the score 21-3, Rodgers was forced to scramble to his right on third-and-3 at the NE 34-yard line before finding Conklin for 18 yards to the NE 16. The Green & White scored 3 plays later.
"He's a dog man," Garrett Wilson said, referring to Conklin. "He deserves everything that he did today, and what's about to come his way because the world doesn't know, so to see him get out there and just do what he does, that's the thing, people see it and think that he did some extraordinary thing, no, that's Tyler. That's how he balls, and he has a lot more to give, so I'm excited for him, and like I said, he deserves it man. I love that man, so right on."
No. 4 -- WR Mike Williams Showing Flashes
Slowly but surely, WR Mike Williams is working his way back into the conversation among the Jets' offensive weapons as he comes back after knee surgery ended his 2023 season with the Chargers. For the second straight game he took more than 30 snaps, catching 3 passes (on 4 targets) for 34 yards. Early in the fourth quarter with the Jets facing third-and-7 at the NE 34, Rodgers found Williams on the Jets' sideline for 18 yards and a first down at the 16. Four plays later Greg Zuerlein capped the game's scoring with a 28-yard field goal.
No. 5 -- Aaron Rodgers Legs Out a First Down
At 40 years old (the oldest player in the NFL) and coming off an Achilles tendon injury that ended his 2023 season before it really began, perhaps the last thing HC Robert Saleh and the sellout crowd of MetLife Stadium wanted to see was Aaron Rodgers doing anything but throwing the ball. But Aaron Rodgers being Aaron Rodgers those concerns simply did not compute. He sprinted out of the pocket to make impressive off-schedule throws and also ran 3 times for 18 yards (6-yard average), twice picking up first downs.
On the first drive of the second half, on second-and-9 at the Jets' 35, Rodgers was forced out of the pocket and took off for the sideline. He gained 11 yards and the first down before being shoved out of bounds by New England's Keion White.
"Yeah, it was on me," Rodgers said. "I mean I did the classic 2008 run to the sideline and Julius Peppers drilled me, where I just kind of gave up, thought I wasn't going to get touched. I am 40 and there's really fast guys in this league, so I got to finish the play out of bounds. But yeah, every time I get drilled or tackled out of bounds like that, it's another, beats the confidence for me."
