Mistakes plague New York Jets as Aaron Rodgers returns

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — This time, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed a pass on his fourth snap of the season: a kick to running back Breece Hall, who promptly fumbled.

It was such a season opener for Rodgers, whose long-awaited comeback was marred by mistakes and poor performances on both ends of the court during a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night at Levi’s Stadium.

“They’re a championship-caliber group, and I hope we see them,” Rodgers said of the 49ers, ending his postgame press conference on a note of optimism.

Rodgers, who tore his left Achilles tendon on the fourth snap of the 2023 season, saw his first extended action in 20 months. He became the 22nd quarterback in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to play after his 40th birthday. There were some vintage moments for the four-time MVP, but he wasn’t satisfied with his comeback performance.

“This is a tough opener for us, travel-wise and schedule-wise, but no excuses,” he said. “We’ve got to play better and I’ve got to play better and we’ll bounce back.”

Rodgers (13 of 21, 167 yards) said he “missed a couple throws,” including an off-target pass to wide receiver Garrett Wilson that was deflected and intercepted by linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. His highlight was a 36-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Allen Lazard — a free play in which he burned the 49ers after they were caught offside.

The star quarterback sat on the bench for most of the night and watched his defense get mauled by the 49ers, who were playing without star running back Christian McCaffrey. The Jets gave up eight consecutive scoring drives, something they hadn’t done in at least 45 years, according to Elias Sports.

“We’re going to fix that problem,” coach Robert Saleh said of the defensive slumps.

The Jets had the ball for just 21 minutes, 20 seconds, the shortest possession time by a Rodgers-led team in a career start. It was Rodgers’ 225th career start. The game was so lopsided that Saleh, a former 49ers assistant, pulled Rodgers with 4:32 left in the fourth quarter.

Rodgers then lamented the inability to sustain drives, pointing to the team’s struggles on the ground. Hall was limited to 54 yards on 16 carries; he also had a drop and a fumble on the shovel pass.

Physically, Rodgers felt “great,” adding: “Yeah, it’s been a while. … Very thankful to be back in the pads. So many people have helped me get here.”

There didn’t seem to be any major issues with his mobility, but he wasn’t really tested. He had no scrambles and only one dropback outside the pocket.

He was sacked once and was pressured on just five of 22 dropbacks, according to NextGen Stats. Interestingly, the sack was recorded by Leonard Floyd, who sacked Rodgers on the play that tore his Achilles tendon in last year’s season opener.

Tonight, Rodgers’ trademark accuracy wasn’t there on short passes. On passes of 10 yards or less, he completed just 5 of 12 for 46 yards and an interception (not counting designed screens). He finished the day with a completion percentage that was below expectation at 10.7%, his worst mark since 2021 — the third of his four MVP seasons.

“We never really gave him a chance to get into a rhythm,” Saleh said of Rodgers.

Rodgers was the victim of a couple of big drops, including a third-down drop by Lazard on the first series. Hall said he apologized to Rodgers after the game, saying he hurt the team with his missteps.

“I told him I was sorry I didn’t play as well as I could have and to my potential,” Hall said. “He just said, ‘It’s going to be a long season, bro. I’m not worried about it. You’re going to be OK.'”

Rodgers and none of the starters played in the preseason, which may have contributed to rust and timing issues on offense and defense. Wilson took offense, insisting their preparation in training camp was fine. Rodgers also said, “That’s an excuse. I’m not going to use that. I don’t think we should. We expect greatness when we step on the field.”

His teammates were happy to have him back.

“It was awesome,” Wilson said. “It was awesome to see him out there, hear him in the huddle. We’re going to get better, but as far as seeing him out there and him being healthy, staying healthy the whole game, it was a good feeling.”