Aaron Rodgers saw his first action as a New York Jet on Saturday night against the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
In two series, Rodgers completed 5 of 8 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. On his second and final drive, the four-time MVP completed a beautiful 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
It was great work for the 39-year-old, and he is glad he didn’t get hurt.
“Yeah, got in, didn’t get hurt, scored,” Rodgers said after the Jets defeated the Giants 32-24. “It was a good night.”
Jets head coach Robert Saleh added: “Yeah. We wanted to get two or three series. Have a first series, come back, get some adjustments, go back to the… and it was good… It was a really productive day overall, not only for the first team offense and defense and special teams but for the coaching staff and the way they communicate.”
Rodgers said he had some butterflies getting out on the field for the first time as a Jet.
“I had some butterflies for sure,” he said. “I think that’s always normal. First time I strap it on, it’s kind of the standard whether I’m in year one playing the San Diego Chargers or year 19 preseason number four; there’s always some butterflies when you step out there for the first time, but I loosened up pretty good when I got the ovation when I took the field. That was a special moment just to have that kind of support, taking the field for that TV timeout, that was pretty special.”
New York begins the season at home against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, and Rodgers thinks the team is ready to go.
“I think we’re ready,” Rodgers said. “I think next week will be an important week. Obviously, there will be some tough decisions with the roster, but just to work in some other things as we transition now to the final 53 that we’re going to be doing every single week.”
“We’ve held back a few things that we’ve been taking notes on, kind of, in the quarterback room, so if we want to put them in the next week coming up, so we’ll put kind of the final touches of the offense, I feel good about where we’re at. Obviously, we still have Duane (Brown) to come back and Breece (Hall) to really fully come back, and Dalvin (Cook) hasn’t practiced yet. So those are three impact players for us that we’re going to want to see on the field and get in the mix. Might be a slower start for some of those guys, but got to get them going with what we’re doing.”
The expectations are high in New York. It’s Super Bowl or bust for the Jets, which is excellent for anybody associated with them.
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