Aaron Rodgers’ Opener: Promising, But Too Soon to Say Much

Everyone wants to make a snap judgment on former Cal star Rodgers, who plays a full game for the first time since 2022

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

It was inevitable that everyone would try to draw grand conclusions about Aaron Rodgers based on his performance in the Jets’ 32-19 loss to the 49ers on Monday night. 

Rodgers, a 40-year-old, four-time MVP recovering from a torn Achilles, was playing his first full NFL game since the 2022 season, so one of two assessments seemed to be required:

--- A. He’s washed up, will never return to MVP form and hurt his team by skipping a practice to visit Egypt.

Or

---B. He’s back, and watch out for the Jets.

Of course, neither assessment is worth much after just one game, and Rodgers made the one-game appraisal more difficult with his Monday showing, which was outstanding at times, less so at other times, and beside the point with the way the 49ers controlled the ball and the game.

Rodgers finished the game 13-for-21 for 167 yards, one touchdown, one interception and an 82.8 passer rating.   He was outstanding on the Jets’ first-quarter touchdown drive and was 7-of-9 when that drive ended, with a drop accounting for one of the completions.

But he and the Jets did little after that, in large part because they never had the ball. 

From the time the 49ers took over with 5:18 left in the first half until San Francisco’s first possession of the second half ended with a touchdown with 7:42 left in the third quarter, the Jets offense and Rodgers went 12 ½ minutes without taking snap (except for a kneel-down with four second left in the first half). 

The 49ers led 13-7 before that stretch began, and they held a 23-7 lead the next time Rodgers took a meaningful snap.

Rodgers showed his football smarts in the third quarter, when he took advantage of a free play, throwing a perfect 36-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard after seeing that a flag had been thrown on the 49ers for being offsides. It was the 18th time that Rodgers has thrown a touchdown pass on free plays.

.@AaronRodgers12 deep ball to @AllenLazard TD❕

📺 #NYJvsSF on ESPN pic.twitter.com/5YA7S4kM8p

— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 10, 2024

But the 49ers were just too good. This is a team that reached the Super Bowl last season – and nearly won it – and was playing at home.  Yeah, Christian McCaffrey was sidelined, but the 49ers still ran for 180 yards and dominated time of possession.

The Jets' vaunted defense simply could not stop 49ers' offense, giving Rodgers little chance to get into a rhythm.

The 49ers had the ball for nearly 39 minutes, while Rodgers and the Jets had it for a little more than 21 minutes.  The sample size was just too small to draw any meaningful conclusions.  And any conclusion after one game would have been premature anyway.

That won't prevent TV analysts or newspaper columnists from spending much of this week telling us why Rodgers will or won't return to his MVP form based on his Monday performance. They are not paid to say, "Uh, I don't know, we have to wait." That doesn't cut it on TV. They have to give an opinion, even on this limited information.

About all you can say is that Rodgers seemed to move pretty well (he's not as nimble as he was 10 years ago regardless of his Achilles issue), and he took a hit without a problem.

You may recall the 2021 season, which may have been the best season in Rodgers’ career. In the season opener that year, Rodgers had perhaps his worst game ever, throwing two interceptions with no TD passes and recording a 36.8 passer rating in a 38-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Rodgers won his second straight MVP award that year, and the Packers earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a 13-4 record.

So the conclusions drawn on the 2024 version of Aaron Rodgers? Wait four or five more games, then decide.

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