Mad Dog Rips New York Jets Superstar After Shaky Week 1 Performance

Chris Russo lit into Aaron Rodgers after his mediocre season debut with the New York Jets.

Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers stands on the sideline. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

After a year-and-a-half of waiting, Aaron Rodgers' first full game with the New York Jets was certainly a letdown.

Against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, Rodgers was mediocre at best.

He completed just 61.9% of his passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception as the 49ers rolled to a 32-19 blowout. At age 40, he looked more like the pedestrian, aging quarterback from his final season with the Green Bay Packers than a four-time MVP.

Even more disappointingly, he failed to make a good impression against the reigning NFC champs. He had a chance to make a statement on the road against one of the best teams in football, a team that should have been vulnerable without its best offensive weapon Christian McCaffrey.

Instead, he was outplayed by Brock Purdy and didn't throw a touchdown pass until late in the third quarter, by which point New York was down 19 points and the game was essentially over.

Needless to say, many fans and pundits were not impressed with Rodgers' Jets debut.

That includes legendary New York sports radio personality Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, who lit into the Jets quarterback with an epic rant on ESPN.

Chris "Mad Dog" Russo with an all-time rant about the New York Jets.

"I gotta listen to Rodgers tell me, 'Well if you jump off the bandwagon, you're not coming back on.' Aaron, Aaron, Aaron, you've played one game. Go back to Green Bay."

And yes, he did bet them. pic.twitter.com/gw28mzmxN8

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 11, 2024

"He can't move. He can't move. He's very nervous about his Achilles," Russo said, referring to Rodgers' season-ending injury from 2023. "He's gonna be a sitting duck back there all year long."

Rodgers only took one sack for five yards in Week 1, but he lost a yard on his only rushing attempt. He's also a QB who operates best when he gets outside the pocket and throws on the run, which he didn't do much of against San Francisco.

Russo also torched Rodgers for his warning to fans about losing faith in the Jets after their season-opening dud.

"Aaron, you've played one game. Go back to Green Bay."

Given Rodgers' contract situation, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

He needs to have a better showing in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans, otherwise the criticism will only get louder.