SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers made it through his second try at an opener with the New York Jets healthy even if the performance wasn’t close to the level that made him a four-time MVP.
A year after tearing his Achilles on his fourth snap with New York, Rodgers made his highly anticipated return to the field on Monday night in a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Rodgers showed signs of his old self, connecting on a well-placed back-shoulder throw to his new No. 1 receiver Garrett Wilson in the first half and connecting on a 36-yard scoring strike to his old Green Bay teammate Allen Lazard in the third quarter.
But those were just a few flashes on a night when he didn’t look comfortable moving in the pocket in his first back from the serious injury and struggled to move the ball consistently for the Jets.
Rodgers finished 13 for 21 for 167 with the touchdown and one interception. He threw for fewer yards only 13 times in 218 previous starts when he played at least 35 snaps.
Rodgers’ second game with the Jets lasted much longer than his first, which ended with a season-ending Achilles injury after just four snaps in 2023.
New York went three-and-out on the opening drive this game with two handoffs and a dropped pass by Lazard before a setback on the fourth snap that was temporary instead of season ending this time around. Rodgers’ first completion as a Jet was caught by Breece Hall, who had the ball punched out by Fred Warner for a lost fumble that set up a Niners field goal.
Rodgers got the Jets moving on the following drive, converting three third-down passes to Wilson to set up Hall’s 3-yard TD run. Rodgers went 6 for 7 for 61 yards on the drive.
New York didn’t get another first down until early in the third quarter after the 49ers had taken a 23-7 lead. Two plays after Rodgers’ 12-yard pass to Hall, Rodgers threw his first interception with New York. His pass to Wilson was deflected by Deommodore Lenoir into the hands of linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
Rodgers provided his biggest highlight on his next drive when he took advantage of a free play when Leonard Floyd jumped offsides to throw his first TD pass in 610 days on the deep pass over the middle to Lazard.
It was Lazard who also caught Rodgers’ last TD pass in Green Bay in the final game of the 2022 season before he was traded to New York where he was supposed to fill the void of a franchise quarterback that Jets fans have been waiting a half-century for since Joe Namath left town.
The 40-year-old Rodgers spent his first 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning four MVPs and one Super Bowl. He was traded before the 2023 season to the quarterback-starved Jets. New York has gone through 15 starting QBs since last making the playoffs in 2010 with Mark Sanchez for the longest active postseason drought in the NFL.
But Rodgers’ first season with New York ended almost as quickly as it started. He ran onto the field with an American flag as part of a pregame celebration.
Then on his opening drive against Buffalo, Rodgers threw one incompletion and was sacked by Leonard Floyd and injured the Achilles. Rodgers made an attempt to return late last season but was unable to pull it off, setting the stage for his return in his native California against San Francisco — the team that memorably skipped over drafting him No. 1 overall in 2005 to take Alex Smith instead.
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