Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets were brought crashing back down to earth on Sunday as they suffered a miserable 10-9 defeat by the Denver Broncos.
Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 50-yard field goal with just 44 seconds left to cap off a dismal day for Robert Saleh, whose team looked far from one capable of competing for Super Bowl glory.
Awful offensively, the Jets looked eerily similar to last season when Zach Wilson, stood in white on the Broncos sideline here, looked lost at quarterback in the wake of Rodgers’ devastating Achilles injury.
The frustrations of last year’s wasted season appeared to have been put to bed in the early weeks of this one. Rodgers had led the Jets to a 2-1 start and optimism, as always in New York, was high.
But 10 days after they dismantled the New England Patriots 24-3 here at MetLife Stadium, the Jets were given a brutal reality check.
Bo Nix threw his first NFL touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton in the third quarter as Denver emerged from their difficult double-header on the road with huge victories over the Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The result also vindicated Broncos coach Sean Payton, who made headlines before last season when he said Nathaniel Hackett did ‘one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL’ during a 4-11 stint in Denver in 2022.
Hackett, now the Jets’ offensive coordinator, did little to dismiss Payton’s claims on Sunday.
‘It was obviously sloppy,’ a downcast Saleh admitted afterwards.
‘They’re already a good defense and we made it easier for them.
‘We had opportunities. We had the ball twice with the chance to win and didn’t execute. We had too many self-inflicted wounds. It was a major step back.’
It was by far the toughest day Rodgers has endured this season. He took hit after hit and needed treatment on a leg injury in the closing stages but seemed to suggest it was nothing serious as they fly to London to play the Vikings next week.
The 40-year-old threw for 225 yards on 24-for-42 passing as his relationship with star receiver Garrett Wilson continues to underwhelm.
Rodgers also got little help from the Jets’ rushing attack. Star running back Breece Hall was held to four yards on 10 carries, with New York collecting only 64 yards on the ground all day.
‘We were kind of killing ourselves. I didn’t have a spectacular game,’ Rodgers said afterwards.
‘I missed some throws, the weather sucked, so did some of my throws. We made way too many mental mistakes and just missed some easy stuff. Our focus wasn’t as sharp as it has been the first three weeks. We let this one get away.’
Asked about the penalties that proved costly, Rodgers said: ‘We do all this stuff every day in practice. We change cadences every walk through.
‘It was way out of character for us. We rarely have a false start and to have five today it seems like an outlier. We don’t need to make mass changes.’
In a dismal start to the game as rain battered fans, neither team managed to pick up a first down until a defensive pass interference call set New York up at the Broncos one-yard line with 53 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Jets couldn’t take advantage and had to settle for Zuerlein’s 23-yard field goal nine seconds into the second quarter.
Things got worse for Denver when running back Tyler Badie was put on a back board and carted from the sideline before the start of the second quarter.
Badie caught a pass from Bo Nix on a third down play and was immediately hit by Quincy Williams for a four-yard loss and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Michael Carter II for the Jets.
Badie came off the field, but then was seen lying on his back and being looked at by trainers on the sideline. He was then secured on a board and lifted onto a cart before being taken from the field.
Zuerlein booted a 35-yarder as time expired in the first half to send New York into the break up 6-0. Surely things would improve?
The Broncos were no better though with rookie quarterback Nix completing just seven of 15 passes for a staggering negative-seven yards in the first half.
The No.12 overall pick put his poor first half behind him, however, to find Sutton in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown three minutes into the third quarter to stun the home fans.
The Jets response was hardly emphatic. More drives ended abruptly, more penalties were conceded.
As the clock ticked into the fourth quarter and the Jets had a promising third down, Rodgers had no choice but to run it out of bounds. He looked around, frustrated, and just about stopped himself from slamming the ball down in anger.
Zuerlein kicked the Jets back in front 9-7 but a Broncos drive fueled by the running of Javonte Williams yielded a field goal that put the visitors back ahead at 10-9.
Rodgers came up limping after a sack late in the fourth quarter and seemed to be favoring his left leg. He was looked at on the sideline by trainers.
It appeared Rodgers might have also fumbled on the play, but the Broncos were out of challenges so Payton couldn’t ask officials to review.
Rodgers came back on the Jets’ next possession with 2:31 remaining but couldn’t get anything going. Facing fourth-and-10 on New York’s 45, Rodgers was sacked again from behind by a blitzing P.J. Locke to give the Broncos the ball at the 35.
The reliable Jets defense came up with a big stop and the Broncos’ drive ended with Wil Lutz pushing a 50-yarder wide left. That gave Rodgers and the Jets one more chance to snatch an underserved victory.
They got down to the Broncos 32 but an incompletion from Rodgers to Mike Williams with 51 seconds left left Zuerlein lined up for a potential winning kick.
His 50-yarder was wide though and Nix and the Broncos were able to kneel down for the victory.
A forlorn Rodgers sat on the sideline with a towel covering his face. He knows there is much work to be done if he is to transform this Jets team into serious contenders.
