NY Jets reach new low as Aaron Rodgers experiment looks like a complete failure

The Rodgers experiment isn't working.

Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers | Joe Sargent/GettyImages

The NY Jets have tried everything. They tried drafting and developing a young quarterback. They tried it many times, in fact. Their latest attempt to field a competitive roster saw the team bring in a future Hall of Fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, and a roster loaded with All-Pros.

The Jets traded for an All-Pro pass rusher. They traded for a superstar wide receiver who was part of one of the best quarterback/receiver duos in NFL history with their current QB. They tried everything to build a top-tier roster.

But it doesn't matter. None of it matters. The Jets fell to 2-5 following another primetime loss, this time to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. This time, Rodgers is the one to shoulder much of the blame.

The Jets' issues extend far beyond Rodgers, however. In reality, it's a new issue every week. The Jets are a bad football team because they find ways to lose. It's a choose-your-own-adventure of dysfunction, whether it's individual player issues, poor coaching decisions, or self-inflicted penalties.

The result is the same. The Jets lose. You can't fix that. You just accept reality.

The Aaron Rodgers experiment has been a disaster for the NY Jets

Rodgers deserves the blame for the Jets' Week 7 loss. His back-breaking interception at the end of the first half was a direct result of his own hesitancy. Rodgers played scared this game. He was hesitant to throw the ball down the field.

When he finally did, he double-clutched — he second-guessed himself. Rodgers didn't look like a 20-year veteran a few years away from receiving a Hall of Fame bust. He looked like a young QB starting his first NFL game on the road.

But again, Rodgers isn't the issue. The reality is that Rodgers had played quite well for most of the season prior to Sunday night's game. The totality of his 2024 season has been roughly a league-average quarterback.

That's, of course, not the resume the Jets signed up for, but the expectation was that league-average QB play would be good enough to get the Jets at least to the postseason. After all, the Jets won seven games with Zach Wilson at quarterback last year.

But logic doesn't matter with the Jets. Somehow the Jets got worse. They have better quarterback play and a better overall roster, and they're a worse football team.

It's not Robert Saleh's fault. It hasn't been Rodgers' fault for most of the season. Who's fault is it? Does it really matter?

The blame game is useless — the result is the only thing that matters at this stage. And that result is a terrible football team and a failed roster-building experiment.

Barring a sudden change as the season progresses, the Jets will be forced into a pseudo-rebuild in the near future. But ask yourself this question: If this didn't work, what will?

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