Exhilarating OT Victory Over Bills Might Be As Good As It Gets For The Jets This Season

Rodgers Injury Overshadows Inspiring Effort

Rarely has a football game ended in such a thrilling fashion as the Jets’ 22-16 overtime victory over visiting Buffalo in their season opener on Monday night that was also accompanied with such a sense of doom and gloom.

The walkoff 65-yard punt return by Xavier Gipson, whose rise from obscure undrafted free agent was so dramatically portrayed in HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series, sent the MetLife Stadium crowd into a frenzy. Jets fans had to go home impressed with how the team was able to fight back from a 13-3 halftime deficit to knock off the three-time defending AFC East champs.

But there also had to be recognition that this game might end up being the season’s highlight, for Gang Green will likely proceed without Hall of Fame-bound quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who took exactly four snaps in his new jersey before being forced to exit following a sack by Buffalo’s Leonard Floyd. The 39-year old Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP who was acquired this offseason in an all-in bid to end a 12-year playoff drought (not to mention a 55-year Super Bowl curse), is feared to have torn his Achilles, which would signal the very premature end to his season. Tuesday’s MRI is expected to confirm it.

We can blame it on left tackle Duane Brown, who whiffed on a cut block to allow Floyd to get to Rodgers virtually unabated; General Manager Joe Douglas, who relied on a 38-year old who barely practiced with the team after recovering from shoulder surgery to protect his priceless QB’s blind side; Rodgers, who should have known better than to hold the ball in that play design; the (profanity) MetLife turf; and/or just plain dumb luck.

It doesn’t matter. Like “The Summer of George” in “Seinfeld”, this was supposed to be “The Autumn of Aaron.” The hype leading up Monday night was through the roof. Viewers could feel the electricity in the stadium when Rodgers ran out of the tunnel carrying an American flag.

Before the first TV timeout, it was short-circuited. George Costanza and Aaron Rodgers both ended up in the hospital.

For us Jets fans, we should be immune to such disappointments. This franchise’s history is rife with lofty preseason expectations obliterated in one or a series of unfortunate events. The NFL is running a commercial with the tag line, “You can’t make this stuff up!” Only with the Jets, we’ve seen this “stuff” before. The nightmares keep recurring.  

There were only subtle differences between Rodgers’ plight and that which took Vinny Testaverde down in the 1999 Jets season opener versus New England. Testaverde’s Achilles injury was non-contact while Rodgers was taken to the dreaded turf and that 1999 squad had legitimate hopes for glory after reaching the AFC Championship Game the prior season. Oh, and the Jets lost that game to the Patriots.

Still, I was among the many Jets fans who exited the stadium that day whose morbid outlook wasn’t dependent on that particular outcome, nor should this pulsating win be taken for anything more than one special night. Whether it was Rick Mirer then or Zach Wilson now, the feeling had to be that we were in for a long and frustrating season. Over before it had a chance to begin.

Forget any of the glowing media reports you’ve read about Wilson since Rodgers arrived to mentor him on the art of playing quarterback in this league. In Year 3, Wilson is still awful, unable to process quickly what he’s seeing from defenses and often inaccurate on throws that NFL QBs routinely make. His second quarter interception to linebacker and Jets killer Matt Milano was a rookie blunder, with Wilson zeroing in on one target so as to not see Milano moving into the passing lane.  

If not for the Jets defense, which forced four turnovers from careless Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and some explosive plays from running back Breece Hall in his first game since returning from last season’s ACL injury, the Jets might have been shut out. Even Wilson’s touchdown to Garrett Wilson was hardly a picture of good QB play. On a simple fade route to the left corner, the pass was too far to the inside, so Garrett Wilson had to simultaneously play defensive back and wide receiver, first using his right hand to reach across the defender to tip the ball in the air and then amazingly corralling it as he was falling to the ground.

According to Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh, it’s going to be Zach Wilson’s ball from here on out. That’s not good for anyone, not just the Jets and their tortured fan base. The networks, who have New York in five more prime time games this season, were also heavily invested in Rodgers.

I just don’t see the Jets exploring other options, though they could bring in a better backup than practice squad player Tim Boyle. Do you really think Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, or (gasp) Joe Flacco will produce the desired results as a starter? As for those who put out Tom Brady in a Jets jersey memes on social media, I give it a 0% chance he unretires to play in New York.

I don’t want to call it a “saving grace” because there is nothing good about seeing an all-time great like Rodgers in this condition, but the Jets will manage to keep their first round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, since the terms of the trade with Green Bay require that Rodgers play at least 60% of this season’s snaps for the conditional second-round pick to be converted into a 1. That’s not going to happen.

Nor will the Jets be able to exorcise their demons this season. It was always going to be hard enough for New York to reach their lofty goals in such a competitive conference with Rodgers upright. Without him, it is virtually hopeless. As they showed last season by going 7-10, the Jets defense can keep them in a lot of games, but not enough to overcome their offensive handicap.

So savor this one exhilarating effort on an inspiring evening commemorating the 9/11 tragedies, It might be as good as it gets this year.