SI:AM | The End May Be Near for Aaron Rodgers

Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich didn’t rule out a QB switch next week.

Rodgers and the Jets have had a dismal season. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I think the most incredible sports moment of this weekend might have been Riqui Puig’s game-winning assist for the LA Galaxy in the MLS Western Conference final. Why? Puig tore his ACL 30 minutes earlier and kept playing. He’ll miss Saturday’s MLS Cup against the New York Red Bulls.

In today’s SI:AM:

😬 Another Rodgers stinker
😞 Tucker’s struggles continue
🤯 CFP mayhem

He’s on borrowed time

Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks followed a familiar script for the New York Jets, as they squandered an early lead and allowed 19 unanswered points to fall to 3–9 on the season.

The turning point came in the second quarter when, after a pair of big special teams plays (a kickoff return for a touchdown and a fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff), the Jets had the ball inside the Seattle 10-yard line. New York was up 21–7 and poised to stretch the lead to three scores.

But then Aaron Rodgers threw a back-breaking pick-six after the Seahawks confused him with an unconventional blitz look that saw defensive tackle Leonard Williams drop into coverage. The pass was tipped by Devon Witherspoon and caught by Williams, who ran 92 yards for the touchdown. The Jets did not get into the red zone again.

It was a rough day for Rodgers, who completed 21 of 39 passes for 185 yards with two touchdowns and that one interception. In fact, he was underwhelming enough that Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich declined to say for certain that Rodgers would start the team’s next game. Asked if he intended to make a QB switch for Week 14’s game against the Miami Dolphins, Ulbrich said, “Not as of today.”

Benching a legend like Rodgers would be a drastic move, but it might be the right one considering how Rodgers has been struggling all season long. Sunday’s game was his third straight with fewer than 200 passing yards. It’s the first time in his career that he’s failed to cross the 200-yard threshold in three straight starts. His completion percentage this season (62.5%) is his lowest since 2019 and the fourth-lowest of his 16 years as a starter. He’s averaging 218.9 yards per game, the second-lowest of his career. His 6.3 yards per attempt is the lowest of his career and ranks 31st in the NFL season (out of 35 qualified passers).

Those stats should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen Rodgers play this year. At 41 (Monday is his birthday) and a year removed from a torn Achilles tendon, he’s clearly a diminished player. It isn’t just the mobility that’s suffered after the Achilles injury, though. His arm strength has also taken a step back. As his low yards per attempt number shows, he’s not pushing the ball down the field.

Pop quiz: Which New York quarterback completed more passes that traveled 10+ yards beyond the line of scrimmage this week? The future Hall of Famer Rodgers or Drew Lock, the third QB to start a game this season for the 2–10 Giants? It’s Lock. He had four completions on passes thrown at least 10 yards downfield in the loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Rodgers only had two such completions. He was a miserable 2-for-14 on attempts of 10+ yards on Sunday.

NFL Next Gen Stats

Rodgers was already on borrowed time with the Jets. The decision to fire coach Robert Salah and general manager Joe Douglas signaled an intention for the team to start fresh. New York will pick near the top of the draft in the spring and will have an opportunity to take a quarterback to pair with a new coach-GM braintrust. Rodgers surely won’t be on the roster in 2025 as the team turns over a new leaf.

But will he be on any roster next season? This can’t be the way Rodgers envisioned his excellent career ending. Ultimately it will be up to him whether he decides to walk away on a sour note or try to seek redemption somewhere else. But will another team want to take a chance on him after how he has looked this year? It isn’t as though you can blame his poor play on the supporting cast and suggest that he might be better off somewhere else. The Jets have a strong offensive line and one of the league’s best young running back-wide receiver duos in Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. The NFL is always going to have teams desperate for a veteran quarterback, but can any of them surround Rodgers with the kind of talent he has had in New York?

It will be worth watching to see how the Jets handle Rodgers over the final five weeks of the season. Ulbrich’s refusal to commit to him as the starter opens the door for veteran backup Tyrod Taylor to start next week in Miami. Even if Rodgers gets the nod against the Dolphins, he could be on a short leash, since Ulbrich has already floated the possibility of a QB switch. Another ineffective game at any point over these final few weeks could spell the end of Rodgers’s time with the Jets—and possibly the end of his career.

Lawrence (16) left Sunday’s game with a concussion. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The best of Sports Illustrated

• The big story from Sunday’s NFL action was Trevor Lawrence’s scary head injury on a dirty hit. Conor Orr argues that the league needs to punish Azeez Al-Shaair stiffly to send a message about player safety.

• Orr also wrote about Justin Tucker’s costly mistakes and the difficult position he has put the Ravens in with his uncharacteristically bad year.

• After their impressive win over the Ravens, Albert Breer explains why the Eagles’ running game isn’t just about Saquon Barkley.

• The Steelers also picked up a wild win over the Bengals in a game that has Gilberto Manzano thinking Pittsburgh’s offense is AFC title–worthy.

• After a wild weekend in college football, Pat Forde tried to project what the 12-team playoff field will look like when it’s revealed in six days. The problem? Forde thinks there are only 11 that deserve a spot.

• Michael Fabiano explains why an overlooked player could benefit significantly from Christian McCaffrey’s injury.

• Mikaela Shiffrin was injured while pursuing her 100th career World Cup title.

The top five…

… things I saw yesterday: 

5. Sarah Fillier’s perfect saucer pass to Alex Carpenter in the New York Sirens’ win over the Minnesota Frost.
4. Geno Smith’s tweet after beating his former team. (Here’s the context if you aren’t fluent in memes.)
3. Mason Marchment’s game-winning goal for the Stars against the Jets. Thomas Harley’s assist from behind the goal line to find Marchment all the way at the opposite blue line was a thing of beauty. (I was sitting in the upper deck and it was amazing to watch the play develop in person.)
2. Leonard Williams’s 92-yard pick-six. Since 2000 (as far back as ESPN’s data goes), no player over 260 pounds has had a return that long. Williams is listed at 300 pounds.
1. Amari Cooper’s improvised pitch to Josh Allen for an unbelievable touchdown.