The fan base of the New York Jets had been in a frenzy since four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers was acquired in a trade with the Green Bay Packers. They felt like the Jets had realistic Super Bowl hopes.
But unfortunately, Rodgers’ 2023 season ended on just the fourth play of the year when Buffalo DE Leonard Floyd sacked him. Replays showed a pop in Rodgers’ calf as he was taken down.
The 39-year-old Rodgers initially got back up and took several steps before apparently realizing what happened and sitting back down. He was helped by medical trainers to the sidelines and went into the injury tent for a few minutes.
When Rodgers emerged from the tent, he was carted off the field to the locker room. He wasn’t available to the media after the game, but Jets’ head coach Robert Saleh told reporters that “it’s not good” and the fear was a torn Achilles tendon.
An MRI this morning confirmed those fears.
Now it’s Zach Wilson’s team again. The BYU product was taken with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Wilson played well enough last night to help the Jets beat Buffalo 22-16 in overtime thanks to a 65-yard punt return for a TD by rookie Xavier Gipson. New York’s defense was dynamite all night, forcing four Bills’ turnovers and intercepting Josh Allen three times.
Wilson completed 14-of-21 passes for 140 yards and one TD with one interception. RB Breece Hall had 127 rushing yards on 10 carries, while WR Garrett Wilson had five catches for 34 yards and one TD. Hall also had a 20-yard reception.
Rodgers’ lone pass of the night was an incompletion.
Wilson played in 13 games as a rookie, connecting on 213-of-383 passes (55.6%) for 2,334 yards with a 9/11 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Then in 2022, he was benched multiple times and played in only nine games. Wilson completed 54.5 percent of his attempts for 1,688 yards with a 6/7 TD-INT ratio.
The Jets are expected to seek out another QB, but they do have journeyman Tim Boyle on the practice squad. He is on his fourth team entering the fifth season of his career.
Boyle saw his only significant playing time when he was with Detroit in 2021. In five games, he completed 61-of-94 passes (64.9%) for 526 yards, but he was intercepted six times compared to three TD passes.
Boyle only played in one game for the Bears last season, completing merely 2-of-8 throws for 33 yards with a pair of interceptions.
The Jets’ trade with the Packers will now send Green Bay a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The compensation would’ve been a first-round pick had Rodgers taken 65 percent of the team’s snaps in 2023.
New York was a 3.5-point road underdog for its Week 2 game at Dallas going into Monday Night Football. That number has now been moved to -9.5, while the total went from 45 points to 39.5.
Before MNF last night, most books had the Jets’ odds to win the Super Bowl at around 16/1. That number is now 65/1 at FanDuel and 60/1 at DraftKings.
The Jets’ season win total was 9.5 coming into the season with around -120 juice to the ‘over.’ FanDuel hasn’t posted a new number for New York yet, but DraftKings now has its win total at 8.5 shaded to the ‘under’ at a -155 price.