Aaron Rodgers is mid, and this Jets experiment is a failure

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Plus more winners and losers from Week 5 in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be the missing piece to the puzzle. The all-in gambit by the Jets to follow in the footsteps of Tom Brady in Tampa and Matthew Stafford on the Rams to lift the Jets out of mediocrity to bring a Super Bowl ring to the Jets.

We’re now five weeks in and it’s abundantly clear that not only is this plan failing, but that Rodgers just doesn’t have it anymore. Sunday in London was the perfect encapsulation of this team’s problems, and it all felt so familiar. The Vikings weren’t particularly dynamic on offense, the Jets had easily done enough defensively to win the game — which included holding Justin Jefferson to under 100 yards receiving, stopping Jordan Addison from making big plays, and keeping Sam Darnold from being comfortable in the pocket, holding him to under 50 percent completion.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Jets lost because of horrible quarterback play.

Granted, we’re talking about only a six point loss to a 5-0 team, but these are precisely the kinds of games Rodgers was brought in to win. The Jets entered this season wanting to play with the big boys of the NFL, but now at 2-3 they’re back to the same old disappointing organization set to underachieve because of quarterback play.

Rodgers was utterly lost against the Vikings. His 54 attempts for 244 yards represented a yards-per-attempt of 4.5, the 5th lowest of his career. His three interceptions was tied for the worst game of his career. Rodgers’ passer rating of 54.9 was the 8th lowest since entering the league.

It’s not just that Rodgers was bad, but when he wasn’t missing wide open passes or routine screens he was making some of the most boneheaded throws we’ve ever seen from him at quarterback.

The first pick was just a brilliant scheme by Brian Flores and excellent execution from Andrew Van Ginkel. The second was absolutely horrific, with Rodgers sailing a ball that had to be placed perfectly — but even then he had no business trying to thread this ball into Cover-2.

The third pick, which ensured the Vikings won, didn’t make sense either. At no point during this play does Mike Williams have a step on Stephon Gilmore. In fact, when Rodgers decides to throw, Gilmore is closing in on Williams’ hip and will have him in his pocket downfield. The result from here was pretty academic.

These aren’t the throws you expect Aaron Rodgers to make, they’re throws you’d admonish Zach Wilson for making. In fact, if we look at the first fives games of Rodgers’ 2024 season, Wilson’s first five games as a starter in 2023, and Brett Favre’s first five games in the 2008 failed Jets’ experiment, well…

Aaron Rodgers (2024): 111-for-182, 1,093 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT — 81.6 passer rating
Zach Wilson (2023): 91-for-149, 911 yards, 4 TD, 4 INT — 76.22 passer rating
Brett Favre (2008): 112-for-157, 1,124 yards, 13 TD, 6 INT — 103.04 passer rating

The truth is that Aaron Rodgers is a lot closer to Zach Wilson than he is to Brett Favre when the Jets tried this all-in approach the last time. They also finished that season 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

There’s nothing left to say about this team. Rodgers got his wishlist of players. The Jets aren’t perfect, but they certainly have enough talent to win. However, they can’t overcome mediocrity at quarterback. The new Jets are a whole lot like the old Jets, with a lot more money being wasted on aging players and a bleak future without much hope.

The all-in gambit in failing, and with games in the next month against the Bills, Steelers, and Texans, there’s a good chance this is only going to get worse.

Winner: Caleb Williams

Hanging points on the Carolina Panthers is kind of like dunking on a toddler at a daycare, but it’s important for young quarterbacks to prove they can take advantage of situations where they have an obvious edge and exploit them.

The Bears’ offensive line has been an issue all season, but the Panthers’ pass rush is even worse — especially without Derrick Brown and Jadaveon Clowney, both of whom were lost to injury. This set the table for Williams to shine, and boy did he ever.

This was a key game in showing why the Bears were willing to trade away Justin Fields and roll the dice on a QB they perceived to have more upside. Williams was able to create out of structure, make big plays to D.J. Moore, and scramble effectively when the need arose.

Most important he was in total command of the offense and looked like a veteran under center. It’s just a matter of time before he’s taking over this entire organization and truly making his mark.

Loser: The Bills’ late-game clock management

There are a lot of reasons the Bills lost on Sunday, but the biggest of which came from the coaching staff. To set up what went wrong we need to look at the drive which started with 32 second left on the clock.

Buffalo was backed up on their own three yard line. At this point the game was tied 20-20. There were two paths to victory: Put together a drive that got the Bills into field goal range, or kill the clock knowing they were backed up and play for overtime.

At some point the decision moved away from both these obvious outcomes and turned into Josh Allen trying to throw three passes in a row, which both didn’t move the ball downfield, not did it force the Texans to burn time out in the hopes of preserving enough clock to score if the ball got back to them.

The three passes took all the pressure off Houston, allowing them a cushion. It was desperation football when there was no need for desperation. These weren’t dialed up as simple chain-moving throws either, but daggers to win immediately. It didn’t work, and with all their time outs it allowed the Texans to be comfortable, gain a few yards, and win on the kick.

After the game Sean McDermott knew it was on him.

No excuse for decision making like that.

Winner: Jamar Jackson

There is nothing more fun in football that when Jackson transcends and hits that gear where he’s floating above everything. That’s what it took to propel the Ravens to a second half comeback against the Bengals.

The total stat line for Jackson is on a whole other level compared to anything we’ve seen in 2024:

26-for-42, 348 yards, 4 TD — 12 carries, 55 yards

With over 400 yards of personal offense, and mistake-free football it was just a beautiful game that established why Jackson is a perennial MVP candidate. This could be the Ravens year, for real this time. There’s just something different, and if they can land one more playmaker (cough, cough Davante Adams) it could put them over the top.

Loser: Sleep

When you start Sunday with a game in London and close with a delayed Sunday Night Football game that doesn’t end until almost 1 a.m. it’s brutal for anyone hoping to get a decent night’s sleep.

On the plus side we didn’t see Cowboys vs. Steelers go to overtime, I guess.