In his return to the gridiron, Aaron Rodgers could not consistently find an offensive rhythm in his first full game as New York Jets quarterback, falling to the San Francisco 49ers 32-19.
Rodgers’ first pass of the season was dropped by Allen Lazard, with the 40-year-old four-time NFL MVP later connecting with his old Green Bay Packers teammate for a 36-yard score for his first touchdown pass in New York.
Rodgers did not appear tentative early despite his first season with the Jets last year lasting four offensive snaps before he tore his Achilles.
Oddly enough, the Buffalo Bill that sacked Rodgers on the play, Leonard Floyd, now plays for the 49ers and tried to bring him to the turf again, and did record a sack of the Jets leader in the second quarter.
Rodgers finished the game with 13 completions on 21 attempts for 167 yards. He also had one touchdown and an interception.
Aaron Rodgers was unsuccessful in his New York Jets return, losing to the San Francisco 49ers
Ricky Pearsall reunited with the two first responders who helped save his life last month
San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey is inactive tonight versus the Jets
Rodgers completed his first pass with the Jets to start his second drive with a shovel pass to Hall. But Fred Warner punched the ball out and Maliek Collins recovered the fumble. The play was Rodgers fourth snap of the season for New York.
Rodgers got the Jets moving on the following drive, converting three third-down passes to Garrett Wilson to set up Hall’s 3-yard TD run. Rodgers went 6-for-7 for 61 yards on the drive.
The 40-year-old Rodgers spent his first 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning four MVPs and one Super Bowl. He was traded before the 2023 season to the quarterback-starved Jets, who have been searching for a franchise QB since Joe Namath left nearly a half-century ago.
San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey was inactive for the game with a calf injury, leading to Jordan Mason taking the backfield work for the 49ers.
McCaffrey is viewed as one of, if not the, best running back in the NFL and his absence seemingly changed the game plan for both teams.
However, Mason shredded the Jets defense for 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Jordan Mason torched the Jets defense for over 100 yards rushing as McCaffrey’s replacement
Rodgers will have to wait at least another week for his first victory as a New York Jets player
49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was on the sideline for the game and he reunited with the first responders that helped save his life after he was shot during a robbery last month.
Pearsall was joined on the field by Sgt. Joelle Harrell and Dr. Lucy Kornblith, presenting each with a signed jersey in the middle of the first quarter.
Pearsall was in street clothes with no obvious signs of lingering injuries from the shooting nine days after it occurred.
The rookie first-round draft pick sustained a bullet wound to the chest during the altercation and was in serious-but-stable condition.
Pearsall reportedly targeted over his Rolex watch. The 23-year-old Arizona native was one week away from his first NFL game, although his status for tonight’s game was already clouded by a shoulder injury.
Rodgers performance comes the same day as the first trailer dropped for his Netflix documentary ‘Aaron Rodgers: Enigma’.