Aaron Rodgers made his return to the NFL on Monday as the Jets quarterback played in his first game since suffering a season-ending Achilles tear to begin the 2023 season. The stage was nearly identical for Rodgers. New York was playing under the lights of "Monday Night Football" to begin the season in Week 1, which is exactly where he went down with the injury a year ago. This time around, Rodgers was able to get out of the game healthy, but not as the victor. In the Jets' 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Rodgers flashed some glimpses of his former MVP self, but the New York offense was largely marred with inconsistency in the losing effort.
On the opening drive of the game, Rodgers only dropped back to pass once, coming on a third-and-3 attempt at the New York 37-yard line. The 40-year-old signal-caller hit Allen Lazard squarely in the hands, but the veteran receiver dropped the ball, resulting in a Jets punt. Rodgers then had a shuffle pass to Breece Hall on the first play of New York's second drive, which the back fumbled to give the ball to San Francisco.
Through the first couple of drives of the game, Rodgers didn't do too much, but that was largely due to circumstances around him. One of the peaks for Rodgers in this Week 1 opener came during New York's third possession. He helped orchestrate a 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive that culminated in a goal-line run by Hall. It was during this drive were we got a glimpse of what this offense is capable of.
Rodgers completed all but one of his seven attempts on the drive, including three completions on third down, Each of those conversions went to Garrett Wilson, and the connection between the quarterback-receiver duo seemed to be in midseason form at that juncture. Rodgers first hit him on a back-shoulder throw up the left sideline to convert on a third-and-8.
The duo connected three plays later over the middle on a third-and-7 to move the chains.
The final conversion on the drive brought the Jets into the red zone with Wilson sliding just past the sticks.
While that showed arguably the ceiling of what the offense under Rodgers is capable of, the unit ran hot in cold in this game. That was one of their better series of the night, but then they posted back-to-back three-and-outs before halftime. Rodgers seemed to move around fine in the pocket, but the veteran quarterback seemed a touch slow when he needed to move outside of it to avoid pressure, including on this sack from Leonard Floyd (who coincidentally was the one who hit him when he tore his Achilles last year).
While Rodgers threw an interception in this loss, it's hard to pin the turnover solely on the four-time MVP. Yes, Rodgers faced pressure in a collapsing pocket and forced the ball in a tight window to Wilson, but the ball bounced directly into the arms of Niners linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles in what was a stroke of tough luck. Regardless, that turnover led to more points for San Francisco as the club built its lead even more.
Remember how we said this Rodgers-led offense ran hot and cold on Monday? Well, the second possession of the second half for New York was the final time it was truly humming. Rodgers had two vintage throws during this stretch, both of which went to former Packers buddy Allen Lazard. The first was a laser on the left sideline.
The second throw was a play Rodgers has made famous throughout his career. After the 49ers jumped offsides, Rodgers had a free play and tossed up a deep shot down the middle of the field to Lazard, who walked in for the 36-yard touchdown. At the time, the broadcast noted it was Rodgers' 18th career passing touchdown on a free play.
That was certainly the highlight of Rodgers' night. Meanwhile, the lowlight, in my estimation, came with under eight minutes to play in regulation. After failing to convert on third-and-1, the Jets kept the offense on the field trying to cut into the 29-13 lead. Rodgers dropped back and had Wilson over the middle for the conversion, but seemed to throw the ball a touch behind him, allowing a 49ers defender to disrupt the pass. The result was a turnover on downs.
Tyrod Taylor came in to relieve Rodgers for the final minutes of the game. On the night, Rodgers completed 13 of his 21 pass attempts for 167 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. While there were glimpses of what he could be in this Jets offense, the quarterback will need to produce a more consistent product out of himself and the offense as a whole.