At least Aaron Rodgers made it through his first game this season with the New York Jets.
The Jets’ hopes of being 1-0 didn’t last too long past halftime of a 32-19 Monday night loss at San Francisco that really wasn’t close. A garbage-time touchdown with backup Tyrod Taylor running the offense masked the true, non-competitive nature of most of the second half.
New York and Rodgers shoot for a better result and better play Sunday when they visit Nashville, Tenn., for a clash with another 0-1 team, the Tennessee Titans.
Jets coach Robert Saleh said Tuesday that 0-1 with a healthy Rodgers feels better than 1-0 did in 2023 with Rodgers on the shelf for the year. The 40-year-old Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon on his fourth snap in last year’s opener against Buffalo, leaving New York’s offense an incoherent mess during a 7-10 season.
“I think our offense is in a really good place,” Saleh said. “I thought it was a good first outing in terms of, you know, for the quarterback, he hadn’t played in so long. But there was a lot of encouraging things and I know it’s going to be a lot better once we balance out this team.”
Rodgers completed 13 of 21 passes for 167 yards with a touchdown and a deflected interception but showed some rust, missing throws he had made over and over during his 18 years with the Green Bay Packers.
A bigger concern for Jets fans might be a defense that was shredded by the 49ers for 401 total yards and 24 first downs. San Francisco possessed the ball for more than 38 minutes, but Saleh isn’t concerned about that unit.
“I know we’re going to get the defense fixed,” he said. “It’s not a problem.”
Playing Tennessee should shed more light on whether Saleh is right. The Titans blew a 17-0 lead in Week 1, losing 24-17 in Chicago as its offense sputtered in the debut of coach Brian Callahan.
Will Levis played more like an uncertain rookie than the now-second-year quarterback who excited Tennessee at the end of last year. Levis was 19-of-32 passing for just 127 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The first one was a pick-6 by Tyrique Stevenson that gave the Bears the lead for good.
Levis played to a meager quarterback rating of 52.5 and Callahan wasn’t happy after the game. On Wednesday morning, the coach softened somewhat.
“I’d say so far, Will has handled it great,” Callahan said. “Even after the game, he was in a good place — understood the mistakes, understood what he had to correct and was ready to move forward.”
The result canceled out an excellent performance from the defense, which permitted Chicago only 148 total yards and 11 first downs. The Titans notched two sacks and forced a turnover while not allowing the Bears’ offense into the end zone.
“It was almost as if we’d just punted on first-and-10 every time, we might have won the game, the way we gave it away,” said Callahan.
The Titans own a 25-20-1 lead in the teams’ all-time series. The Jets won the most recent meeting three years ago in overtime.
Jets starting cornerback D.J. Reed (knee) did not practice Friday after being limited Wednesday and Thursday. He is questionable to face the Titans, as is defensive lineman Micheal Clemons (triceps). Defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw (personal reasons) did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was limited on Friday, but carries no game designation.
The Titans have no players with a game designation for Sunday. Safety Jamal Adams (hip) will make his team debut after missing Week 1, and he will go up against the team that drafted him sixth overall in 2017. Adams made two Pro Bowls in three seasons with the Jets.
