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Troy Aikman Perfectly Broke Down ‘Humbling’ Loss for Aaron Rodgers and the Jets

Andy Nesbitt

Aaron Rodgers and the Jets fell the 49ers, 32-19.
Aaron Rodgers and the Jets fell the 49ers, 32-19. / @ESPN
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Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets got off to a strong start against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night but then got steamrolled over the last three quarters and left town with a 32-19 loss in their season opener.

The good news for the Jets is that Rodgers made it out of the game healthy. The bad news is that he only threw for 167 yards and one touchdown. He also had one interception as the 49ers' steller defense gave him fits all night.

The Jets waved the white flag in the fourth quarter, subbing in backup QB Tyrod Taylor, who led the team to a meaningless touchdown in the final seconds.

After the game Troy Aikman perfectly broke down what he called a "humbling" and "deflating" loss for the Jets.

Aikman said:

"I think early on (Rodgers) was not able to get into a rhythm. I think maybe if a couple balls are caught that weren’t caught, it changes the way a quarterback feels. They had the one good drive after the third drive, they struggled early. And then you felt like they started to figure this out."

"But the way I look at it is it had less to do with the Jets offensively or Aaron Rodgers and more to do with the 49ers. I thought (49ers defensive coordinator) Nick Sorenson came up with a great plan and the guys played hard. But I know when Mike Williams is fully incorporated in this offense he’s going to help. (Allen) Lazard didn’t do much until later in the ball game."

"I still think this is a team that’s capable of being really, really good. They just have too many good players. And Rodgers is going to play at a high level, we certainly believe that. But this was a humbling night for the New York Jets, there’s no doubt. This would have been a huge win to come here and win this game against this team but to not play better than they did is pretty deflating."

The Jets will look to rebound in Week 2 when they travel to Nashville to face the Titans.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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