This season was supposed to be different for the Jets.
Gang Green entered Sunday’s game against Jacksonville with a 3-10 record and four straight losers.
But Sunday’s game was just a preview of what many people expected from the Jets when they were picked to win the AFC East crown and contend for a Super Bowl, especially in the second period.
The play of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams ignited the Jets’ offense in the second half, allowing them to hold on for a 32-25 victory over the Jaguars, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
After the win, fans weren’t the only ones wondering where this explosive offense had been all season.
“It’s too little, too late, but it’s special, it doesn’t taint it at all,” Rodgers said of the performance. “That doesn’t take away from the joy.
“That doesn’t take away from the fun that will be on the bus and on the plane and we have another bus back to the facility. This is going to be special, and it will always be special. It was a year where we were close, but we let that get away from us in the middle of the season.
After Rodgers returned from the Achilles injury he suffered in Week 1 of last season, many believed the Jets’ offense, along with their top-ranked defense, would challenge the AFC’s Chiefs . Not only did that not happen, but the Jets offense looked stale for most of this season.
That led Jets owner Woody Johnson to suggest the coaching staff bench Rodgers, who suffered ankle, knee and hamstring injuries at various points during the season. It also led Johnson to fire coach Robert Saleh and later general manager Joe Douglas.
But since the bye week, Rodgers has looked like a different player. Not only can he move around the pocket more freely than in the previous 11 weeks, but Rodgers is showing signs of the player the Jets thought they were getting when they traded for him in April 2023.
Against the Jaguars, Rodgers finished 16 of 30 for 289 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the Jets in rushing with 45 rushing yards. In his last three games, Rodgers is averaging 271 yards and has thrown six touchdowns and just one interception.
“Just some good adjustments,” Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “Todd [Pass game coordinator Todd Downing] did a great job of really trying to figure out their coverage and took advantage of it in the second half.
“It was really a tale of two halves on both sides of the ball as far as adjustments. We had a much better second half.
Adams also looked like the player who was once considered the best receiver in the league against the Jaguars. The Jets traded for Adams on October 15, hoping he would be the team’s playoff contender after starting the season 2-4. However, there were many ups and downs, including questions about the team’s energy.
But on Sunday, Adams recorded nine receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns, all in the second half. Additionally, he became the 12th player in NFL history to record 100 receiving touchdowns.
“It was good to get in there, my teammates were pumping me up all week about it,” Adams said of reaching 100 touchdowns. “I think they were more excited than I was, which is obviously a good thing.”
In critical moments of the game, Adams had a 71-yard touchdown run with 3:24 left and a 41-yard catch that set up Breece Hall for a game-winning touchdown with 1:05 left. In the midst of this, Adams made the most bizarre catch along the sideline for a first down straight out of a video game.
“Historic, magical,” Ulbrich said of the Rodgers-Adams connection. “To get his 100th TD today, I feel honored to have seen it and to have been there for it.
“It was an incredible moment for these two guys. I saw a lot of ball between them and a lot of touchdowns. So for them to get that was special.
At this point, the Jets are playing for pride after being eliminated from the playoffs last weekend against the Dolphins. But they’re also playing for possible jobs next season.
With a new regime coming this offseason, the status of Rodgers and Adams remains up in the air. Rodgers has no guaranteed money left on his contract after the 2024 season. If the Jets released him, their salary cap hit would be $49 million.
Adams also has no guaranteed money on his contract, so he will likely have to restructure it if he wants to stay with the Jets. He is expected to earn $35.6 million in 2025.
The Jets could choose to start from scratch and rebuild from scratch. But as Rodgers and Adams continue to show signs of their glory days, they could decide to run it again in 2025.
Time will tell what Johnson and the Jets ultimately decide to do.
“In all honesty, I’m enjoying this moment right now with this team and this performance,” Ulbrich said of the victory. “It was amazing today, and we’ll take it as it is.”
