Aaron Rodgers knew the Titans were in Cover 0.
The New York Jets quarterback knew that Tennessee’s line-of-scrimmage swarming eliminated concern about a deep safety on this third-and-1 play call, his attention instead redirecting to star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed’s tight coverage on receiver Garrett Wilson.
Rodgers watched as his No. 1 receiver cut outside and looked back expectantly. Rodgers watched as Wilson then cut inside with eyes still firmly searching for the ball. Rodgers unfurled a 26-yard, back-shoulder throw with an ease that such feats should not dictate.
Wilson caught it. And the Jets’ go-ahead drive lived to see another down.
“Based on the angle of Sneed, it felt like the only opportunity to complete it was to throw it back inside,” Rodgers said later. “[Wilson]’s so talented that was probably an easy play for him, where for most people that’s probably like a highlight-reel play.”
Two plays later, facing second-and-16, Rodgers found Mike Williams for a similar drop in the bucket on the opposite side of the field.
Rookie running back Braelon Allen’s 20-yard touchdown with 4:36 remaining would follow, sealing the Jets’ 24-17 win and Rodgers’ first win in which he both started and finished the game for New York.
The victory buoyed spirits across the club. But concern lingered, too, as the Jets played a second straight game with a conservative game plan that rarely showcased Rodgers’ talent.
“Early in the process, unfortunately,” Rodgers explained. “We haven’t put it together.”
And yet, the Jets are drawing confidence from the prospect of what they can become. They’re clinging to the flashes of a well-oiled offense amid performances against the San Francisco 49ers and Titans that otherwise show they have not yet figured it all out.
“I think we’re going to look back at the end of the season and know those are two really good defenses, whether they’re top 10 or top 15 or top five,” Rodgers said. “Two really good defenses, two good schemes. Sometimes it’s a bad throw, sometimes it’s missing a landmark in the run game, sometimes route concepts get screwed up and we don’t run the right route. Just little things. It’s correctable.
“But good teams can close out games in tough environments. And we’ll be really thankful for this one, I hope, down the road.”
Where were Rodgers’ downfield passes against Titans?
Rodgers didn’t earn his four MVP honors by exclusively dumping off passes near the line of scrimmage throughout his career.
The Jets traded multiple draft picks in 2023 and paid Rodgers handsomely to acquire a decades-long magic show fueled jointly by rare arm talent and rare processing ability.
Rodgers tapped into that potential on the Jets’ final possession, combining an understanding of the Titans’ coverages with an innate feel for his teammates’ spacing to engineer what would become the game-sealing scoring drive.
The success Rodgers found targeting Wilson and Williams downfield that series begged the question: Why did he test those waters so rarely throughout the game?
Rodgers attempted just five passes beyond 10 air yards Sunday, his third-fewest attempts in a game since 2016, per Next Gen Stats. (Rodgers has played more than 90 games in that stretch.)
Entering the Jets’ final drive, Rodgers had completed just one pass that traveled more than nine yards downfield.
That pass was the result of running back Breece Hall’s recommendation during a timeout called to counter Rodgers’ near-delay of game. Hall went to Rodgers during that timeout to alert his quarterback that he was matched up with a linebacker.
Hall then separated from the linebacker and caught an airborne 26-yard touchdown in a fashion more befitting of a wide receiver than a running back.
“I kind of didn’t throw the best ball,” Rodgers said, “but he made a nice catch.”
In fairness to the Jets, part of their bubble-screen, short-air yardage game plan was intentional against a Titans defense that signed high-priced defensive backs this offseason and neutralized first overall pick Caleb Williams in Week 1. The Jets prioritized the quick game, Rodgers completing 13 of 18 passes that he released in under 2.5 seconds, per Next Gen Stats.
But Rodgers’ 3-of-5 completions for 71 yards and a touchdown on attempts past 10 air yards suggest there’s more for this team to unlock.
The Jets will not always face a team whose quarterback throws an interception and loses a fumble, the Titans also attempting a punt that the Jets blocked. New York needs its passing attack to bolster its run game and defensive strengths.
With Rodgers, the team believes it will.
“We’re working through things, obviously,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “The guy’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and has had production in this league for a very, very long time so he’s seen everything. To have a presence in the huddle for a lot of guys who haven’t seen everything is pretty cool.”
Why Jets believe latest win will power more wins
As the Green Bay Packers’ 15-year starter, Rodgers anchored a winning culture.
The Packers posted a winning record 10 times in those 15 years, and 10 of the 13 in which Rodgers was healthy for the bulk of the season. The Jets posted four winning seasons in that 15-year stretch.
Rodgers’ Packers advanced to the playoffs 11 of those years; New York advanced to the playoffs twice, the most recent visit following the 2010 season.
Saleh acknowledged after Sunday’s game the impact of that history on his players, and the impact of Rodgers’ resumé in contrast.
“We’re a young team and an organization that’s been through it for the last 13 years, so there’s going to be some learning as we go,” Saleh said. “As you look at the game as it unfolds, the mindset of ‘We can score every drive’ is eventually going to take over this football team. And once that does fully take over, I think it’s going to be free-flowing and look beautiful when it all comes together.
“To have a guy like Aaron who just gives that calm presence at the quarterback position is priceless.”
Rodgers echoed Saleh’s sentiment, confirming he enters every drive confident he can score even as he knows that result does not always materialize. Winning games in which drives oscillate is key, he said. Staying locked in on fourth-quarter attempts to take over (and stave off a counter, on defense) is a skill.
Rodgers compared the team’s cool demeanor Sunday with what he believed was negativity last season after the Jets lost him to an Achilles tear. He explained why a Week 2 win over an out-of-division team who didn’t make the playoffs last year matters.
“Late in the season when you’re trying to get in the playoffs, you’re looking back,” Rodgers said. “It was a hot day, short week, very good defense, start off really slow but finding a way to win. That’s what really good teams do. Great teams, when you’re up 14-10, you block a punt and score a touchdown to go up two scores. So we’re not quite there.”
Teammates echoed that, noting on which plays they didn’t deliver their opportunities while also expressing an act-like-we’ve-been-here-before confidence.
Take Hall, whose 114 yards from scrimmage anchored a running back room that raised its contributions from a combined 100 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown in Week 1 to 170 yards and three touchdowns in Week 2.
He celebrated – and anticipated better.
“We came together and pulled it off at the end, but just keep getting better,” Hall said. “We expected it today. We’re happy we won. But we still feel like we could get better.”
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