In a season that seemingly gets worse by the week, the New York Jets suffered a crushing loss this afternoon at home against the Indianapolis Colts. New York lost 28-27 to the Colts, but the final score does not tell the entire story. New York’s offense, with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, got off to a horrible start. They did not pick up a first down until their final drive of the opening half. Rodgers, to his credit, played far better in the second half, but his defense coughed up another lead late in the game.
Rodgers finished 22-of-29 with 184 yards and two touchdowns. He drove the New York Jets down the field for a field goal to take a five-point lead, 27-22, with 2:41 left in the game. All Rodgers needed to salvage the victory was a clutch stop by his defense. New York’s defense preceded to let Quarterback Antony Richardson lead the Colts offense on a 70-yard drive to leave MetLife Stadium with an improbable victory. Today’s loss dropped the New York Jets to 3-8 and catapulted them to the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NFL Daft. Where does the team go from here?
New York Jets Season Summary
Winning % as Jets starting QB:
Zach Wilson .364
Sam Darnold .342
Aaron Rodgers .273— Steve Palazzolo (@StevePalazzolo_) November 17, 2024
New York entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations and has looked far from it during the year. Many pundits and former players believed that a healthy Aaron Rodgers, with a roster that won seven games in 2023 with miserable QB play, would be a winning combination. That could not be any further from the truth. The issue is the 2024 New York Jets do nothing well. Their offense has been poor this season and their defense has fallen off a cliff since the team fired Head Coach Robert Saleh earlier in the year. The defense under Saleh was not a problem, but they have become a liability.
With Sunday’s loss, Rodgers’ winning percentage with the Jets fell to 27.2%. This statistic does not include Week 1 of the 2023 season against the Buffalo Bills where Rodgers only made it through four plays. As poor as the QB play was before Rodgers, Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson both experienced greater success. Darnold was 13-25 under center and Wilson was 13-21. No one expected Aaron Rodgers to find himself on a list alongside two of the most maligned quarterbacks in recent years. To add insult to injury, Darnold has seemingly revitalized his career as the QB of the 8-2 Minnesota Vikings.
Final Thoughts
The terrible New York Jets season is not surprising when one has the gift of hindsight. Rodgers, 40, is the oldest active NFL player coming off a Torn Achilles. This injury has robbed Rogers of two of his greatest strengths, his accuracy and movement in the pocket. He is 29th in the league completing 62.4% of his passes. This nightmare for the New York Jets may not end this season as Rodgers stated earlier this week that he is planning to return for the 2025 season. Only time will tell if New York is willing to part ways with a Rodgers who would like to be the Jets quarterback in 2025.
Another issue with Rodgers has been his lack of commitment to football in the offseason. Whether taking Ayahuasca or mulling over the idea of being a Vice Presidential candidate, football has taken a backseat in Rodgers’ life in recent years. The New York Jets have a bye in Week 12 before hosting the Seattle Seahawks on December 1 and visiting the Miami Dolphins on December 8. This has been a nightmare season for the New York Jets, and Aaron Rodgers is one of the main reasons.
