Is Fading New York Jets Superstar Officially Washed Up?

Is New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers just in a funk? Or is he finally over the hill?

Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws the ball under pressure from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Father time is undefeated, and it may have finally come for New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

It's been over a month since the regular season started, and things were supposed to be getting better for the 40-year-old gunslinger. Instead, they've been getting worse.

Despite reaching a major career milestone, Rodgers submitted another underwhelming performance in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings in London, completing just 29 of his 54 passes (53.7%) for 244 passing yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Jets were unable to overcome Rodgers' early mistakes, as he threw two first-quarter interceptions for the first time in his career. New York fell into a 17-0 hole against the undefeated Vikings in the first half and nearly came back, only for Rodgers to seal his team's fate with another pick late in the fourth quarter.

Aaron Rodgers now has as many 3-interception games with the Jets in five starts this year as Zach Wilson had in his 11 starts last season #Jets pic.twitter.com/Nl3rmNp0By

— John Breech (@johnbreech) October 6, 2024

During his glory days with the Green Bay Packers, fans could have shrugged it off as a bad day for the four-time MVP, especially since he a) suffered a painful-looking ankle injury in the third quarter, b) was playing overseas in a different time zone, and c) was facing one of the NFL's best teams this year.

However, mediocre performances have become the norm for Rodgers. Through five games this year, he has a 60.9% completion rate (his worst since becoming a starter) with seven touchdowns and four interceptions while averaging 218.6 passing yards per game.

Rodgers -- who's also been sacked eight times in his last two games combined -- suddenly looks his age, similar to Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and every other elite QB of his generation who faded at the end of their careers. He moves slowly in the pocket, has struggled to take care of the ball and has seen his accuracy decline.

While the Jets have had offensive line issues and other problems, it's become abundantly clear that this is simply who Rodgers is now. He hasn't been an elite quarterback in three years now and has drawn unflattering comparisons to New York Giants QB Daniel Jones.

Rodgers doesn't have many valid excuses for his poor production. He's coming off a major injury, but so is Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow. He's old, but so is Indianapolis Colts backup Joe Flacco (39). Both have significantly outperformed Rodgers this year.

New York sacrificed a lot to get Rodgers, but the early returns have not been good. He's now 2-3 this year, with both of his wins coming against two of the worst teams in the NFL. The New England Patriots are 1-4, while the Tennessee Titans are 1-3.

Any competent quarterback could beat those teams, even Zach Wilson.

Meanwhile, Rodgers has struggled against more formidable competition, going 0-3 with three touchdowns, four interceptions and 198.3 passing yards per game. He's lost to Brock Purdy, Bo Nix and Sam Darnold -- not exactly the cream of the crop.

The Jets have a tough stretch coming up against the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Patriots and Houston Texans to close out October, so things aren't going to get any easier for Rodgers. If he doesn't figure things out soon and start playing better, New York is going to be in serious trouble.