Highest Graded New York Jets Players From Disappointing Week 1 Loss

These were the New York Jets players with the best performances of the week during their disappointing showing against the San Francisco 49ers.
Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks off of the field during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks off of the field during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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The New York Jets didn't have the season opener they had hoped for, coming out slow in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Not all Jets players started slow, however, as there were a couple who served as bright spots throughout the contest.

As Pro Football Focus released the first edition of their weekly grades for the NFL season, the names at the top for New York were both surprising and expected.

Sitting atop the Jets rankings with the best performance of the day, receiving a great 86.2 grade, was quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

On the surface, it wasn't the game that fans hoped for out of a future Hall of Famer. Rodgers was 13-for-21 for 167 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

PFF's grading system still liked what he did, as he finished with the fourth-highest passing grade of any quarterback around the league. His adjusted completion perfect was risen to 71.4% when taking away the two dropped passes by receivers, making things a little better for the 40-year-old.

Rodgers also had two "big time throws" which are described as "a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window."

The interception was an interesting evaluation as it was thrown into tight coverage, but came off of a deflection from the defender, so it wasn't a normal "bad throw" pick.

It was a fine day overall, but the passer will certainly be searching for more production next time around.

The player who received the second-highest grade was the surprisingly effective Allen Lazard at a 78.7.

The maligned receiver hauled in six catches on nine targets for 89 yards and two touchdowns (one from Rodgers and one from Tyrod Taylor).

A lot of questions were raised about what the veteran's role would look like in the new offense, but he already looks more involved than he was at any point last season.

Perhaps having his favored pass-thrower once again will have a huge impact and lead to a productive year he was expected to have when he signed in free agency.

No one else had a hugely impressive night, but the next couple of highest-graded players all received similar marks on the defensive side of the ball.

The most well-rounded of those was linebacker Quincy Williams, continuing where he left off from his All-Pro campaign a year ago.

Williams had six tackles and allowed four completed passes on six targets with just three yards after the catch.

These are all players who will be hugely important for New York this season, they'll just need to hope for more from the players outside of that list when they take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 2.


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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders