Rodgers pioneers shaky start in return to action for Jets against 49ers
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The result was not what the New York Jets or their fans were hoping for in their season opener, but there is cause for optimism for Gang Green.
After all, their star quarterback played more than four snaps this year, which is already a marked improvement on the 2023 campaign.
Aaron Rodgers and the Jets lost 32-19 on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, a team who many are picking to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl again this year.
Rodgers, 40, played most of the game before he was benched in the fourth quarter with New York trailing by three scores. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 167 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
A season ago, after New York traded a first-round draft pick, two second-round draft picks and a sixth-rounder to acquire Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers, his season ended after four snaps due to a torn Achilles.
“I can play better,” Rodgers said after the game. “I missed a couple of throws ... I felt overall I got the ball out pretty good but there were some opportunities I’d like to have back.”
Rodgers looked like his old self when he hit his long-time teammate with the Packers, Allen Lazard, on a deep ball for a 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
He also completed six of seven passes for 62 yards on a touchdown drive that gave the Jets the lead in the first quarter.
“There were moments, moments that felt pretty good but not sustained. I felt like if we could just get a first down we’d be rolling. But we had those three and outs which hurt us. I think a lot of stuff is correctable,” said Rodgers.
There were missed throws, and Rodgers struggled at times moving around in the pocket, but that was to be expected in the quarterback's first real action since January of 2022.
With a game of action under his belt, Rodgers and the Jets look to correct course in Tennessee in Week 2 when they battle Will Levis and the Titans.