Aaron Rodgers looks like MVP self as NY Jets dominate Patriots on TNF

It had been 24 years since the last time the NY Jets beat the New England Patriots by three scores. 24 long years. But on Thursday night, Aaron Rodgers and the Jets embarrassed their longtime rivals on primetime television no less.

The Patriots had spent years tormenting their AFC East foes. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady made a career out of humiliating their often inferior division rivals. Even in the post-Brady era, the Jets could never seem to exercise their Patriots demons.

The Jets finally defeated the Patriots for the first time in 16 games this past January, but even then, the win only served to cost the team draft position. It didn't matter — it was a hollow victory.

But it's different now. The Jets not only defeated the Patriots in a game that actually mattered, but they did so in a dominating fashion. And they did so with their franchise quarterback looking every part of the MVP version we've seen from him in the past.

Aaron Rodgers leads NY Jets to dominating win on TNF

Rodgers finished the game completing 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns, but the final box score numbers — while excellent in their own right — don't tell the full story.

Rodgers looked hesitant at times in his first two games. The mobility and escapability that were once staples of his game looked almost non-existent. The other stuff was still there, but Rodgers looked like an aging version of his once-elite self.

That wasn't the case on Thursday. The hesitancy was gone. The rust that permeated his performances in Weeks 1 and 2 was nowhere to be found. Most importantly, his confidence was back.

This didn't even look like the 2022 version of Aaron Rodgers from his last "healthy" season in Green Bay. This looked like vintage Aaron Rodgers. It looked like the Aaron Rodgers who won back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021.

Even the most optimistic of Jets fans and Rodgers supporters wouldn't have anticipated the future Hall of Fame quarterback to play at this level in just his third game back.

If this is the version of Rodgers the Jets are going to get this season, this team has a Super Bowl ceiling. Aaron Rodgers is back — and so too are the Jets.

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