This was one the Jets simply had to have with "the season on the line," according to QB Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers' first-half numbers (7 of 14/32 yards) were frightful on any night, nevermind that it was Halloween.
"I mean, I was terrible," Rodgers said after the game as Thursday night bled into early Friday morning. "We had a touchdown called ... you know, taken off the board, silly play [Malachi Corley's 'fumble' as he crossed the goal line]. But I feel like the energy was good at halftime. Morgan [Moses] gave a little speech, which was good. We all kind of were positive talking. Nobody was isolating at halftime. And we just knew, hey, let's go out and score every possession."
So then ... three second-half drives. Three second-half touchdown passes.
The wily veteran quarterback conjured a bit of the old magic, leading the Jets on two long TD drives, each ending with breathtaking one-handed TD catches by that wizard of a wide receiver -- Garrett Wilson. The first one, on the opening drive of the second half, tied the score, 7-7. On second-and-12 from the Houston 21, Wilson grabbed a short pass over the middle and glided into the end zone.
The second TD to Wilson (9 catches/90 yards) was spectacular, and it almost didn't happen. On the previous play, third-and-9 at the Houston 16, Rodgers deftly scrambled 13 yards -- but the play was called back on a holding call on rookie Olu Fashanu.
"I looked halfway athletic," Rodgers said. "I didn't hurt myself in the process."
Pushed back to the 26 with a third-and-19, Rodgers saw a chance on the left side to let Wilson go up for the ball. And that's exactly what he did -- a leaping split, getting one foot in and a shin down before his knee, a TD that was confirmed on review.
"When it was third-and-extra-long, I was looking at the weak side safety, and I was like, if he drops down at all, just gonna say, screw it, I'm going to throw it up to G," said Rodgers, who finished the game 22 of 32 for 211 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions. "I felt like I put it in a decent spot. But, yeah, I didn't do a whole lot when it comes down to it. I just kind of lobbed one up there. He made an unbelievable catch. When I saw the replay, it looked like he had knee [actually his shin] in so I thought, shoot, throw the challenge flag. Brick [interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich] was already in front of me throwing it. But that was a huge play. First one was a huge play as well. But what was it third-and-20? Yeah. I mean, that's game-changing play."
And Rodgers then directed a march that began with 6:54 to play, melted 3:58 off the clock and iced the game for the Jets. Facing third-and-3 at the Texans' 37, Rodgers landed a perfect strike into the waiting arms of Davante Adams along the home sideline for a TD that effectively put the final nail in the coffin. The last time the two pals collaborated on a TD pass was in 2021 when they played for Green Bay. This one was their 69th TD collaboration.
"That's something that takes years, you know, that's, that's a relationship that's, that's way deeper than the three or four weeks they've been together," Jeff Ulbrich said of the Rodgers-to-Adams connection.
Rodgers played much of the game with a makeshift offensive line after LG John Simpson and RG Jake Hanson (playing for the injured Alijah Vera-Tucker), were forced from the game with injuries. They were replaced by Max Mitchell on the left and rookie Fashanu on the right -- both of whom are tackles. With all that going on, Rodgers was only sacked twice in the game by a Texans defense that entered the game with 27, third-best in the NFL.
"I got to give Max a lot of credit," Rodgers said. "Max played a ton of tackle for us last year, and I believe he played, I remember he served maybe a little bit of right guard. I don't know if he ever played any left guard. So for him to step in like that was fantastic. And Olu, I don't know how many reps at guard and can't, but it can't be many, if any."
He added: "And he's with an absolute legend of a human being on the right side in Morgan Moses. I mean, Morgan and [LT] Tyron Smith, I thought played really well, but more than that, their energy and their confidence and their leadership was really special tonight."
