The New York Jets suffered their second straight loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 17, falling to a very disappointing 3-8 record and cementing the fact that one more loss would crush any hopes of making the playoffs.
New York entered the 2024 season with +2000 odds to win the Super Bowl, the 11th best in the NFL. On paper, it’s easy to see why.
Forty-year-old legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers returned to the lineup coming off an Achilles tear last season. They acquired All-Pro offensive tackle Tyron Smith and sustained a fully healthy team — something the Jets hadn’t had for years. Hope was finally alive for Gang Green and their fans for the first time in over 10 seasons.
That was until the regular season began.
On Oct. 8, the then 2-3 Jets decided it was time to move on from Head Coach Robert Saleh after four seasons through a conversation with Jets owner Woody Johnson.
The dialogue reportedly took slightly longer than a thirty-second timeout.
Saleh had a 20-36 record as head coach, going 7-10 in both 2022 and 2023, with much hope for a team that has so much talent this year.
He was replaced by his defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, who so far has led the team to a 1-5 record, including an upset loss to the New England Patriots (3-8) on Oct. 27. Along with the offense, coaching has been a direct problem for the Jets over the past several years, which still needs to be addressed even with Rodgers at the helm.
Jets fans claimed the team would need a “capable” QB to succeed. Yet, Rodgers has failed through 11 weeks and has led the Jets to a fourth-place AFC East standing. He has now played in as many games this season as former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson did last year — throwing for the same amount of interceptions, fewer passing yards and eight more touchdowns. He also has one less win and one more loss than Wilson.
On Nov. 13, ESPN’s Tim Keown reported that players on the team have struggled to build a relationship and play under their quarterback. Notably, rookie running back Braelon Allen feels pressured under Rodgers, saying “The driving force in me wanting to play my best is not disappointing him.”
The reason this Jets team is such a failure is the full financial freedom given to Rodgers. New York has traded for and signed a plethora of players with Rodgers connections, including Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, and then traded for his former number-one wide receiver, Davante Adams.
Rodgers isn’t going to fix much, but the team can’t lean onto the defense to provide some form of light like they could years prior, a unit that has heavily struggled in all aspects.
The Jets have 460 missed tackles, the 6th-most in the league, and only 270 less than last season. Gardner took to X and claimed he shouldn’t be blamed for one simple missed tackle — highlighting another underlying issue for the Jets: no one has taken accountability.
There have been countless moments where Rodgers not only blamed others for his mistakes but bashed the team as a whole for their decisions.
After throwing a game-losing interception late in the fourth quarter down three to the Bills on Oct. 14, Rodgers shifted the blame onto wide receiver Mike Williams, claiming he wasn’t lined up for the right route. When the Jets demoted coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, Rodgers claimed it’ll be tough to learn under someone else since Hackett is his “best friend.” These moments show what type of person Rodgers is: arrogant, narcissistic and an overall bad team player. Especially after missing most of training camp for a random trip, he took to Egypt before the 2024 season began.
It’s looking like the New York Jets will extend their playoff drought to 15 years, the longest drought in all four of the major American sports. The Jets have the eighth-easiest schedule left in the NFL, something that they could use to their advantage to make a final push for the playoffs somehow, where they must win every single game on their schedule and hope for other teams to lose.
If the season is a scratch, you can safely say that Aaron Rodgers has set the Jets back more than five seasons, a disaster for a franchise that, historically, is full of many.
