Aaron Rodgers reignites Jets' Super Bowl dreams with dazzling performance in win over Patriots a year after brutal Achilles injury

Aaron Rodgers reintroduced himself to New York Jets fans successful stunning manner with Thursday’s 24-3 triumph implicit the rival New England Patriots astatine MetLife Stadium.

The celebrated backmost who arrived successful 2023 arsenic a franchise savior, lone to endure a season-ending wounded wrong his archetypal 4 snaps, remained upright successful Thursday’s location opener. And successful doing so, helium picked isolated a Patriots secondary portion reminding Jets fans, teammates, coaches and executives wherefore determination was truthful overmuch excitement surrounding his accomplishment a twelvemonth ago.

The infinitesimal was astir excessively overmuch for caput manager Robert Saleh, who presumptively tried to hug Rodgers aft the Jets’ 2nd touchdown of the evening, lone to beryllium forcefully rebuffed by the four-time MVP.

New York’s reinforced violative enactment withstood an improved New England walk rush, the Jets’ formidable defence pummeled an overmatched Patriots violative line, and Rodgers took attraction of everything else, completing 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Rodgers didn’t fuss recreating his 2023 entrance, erstwhile helium triumphantly led his caller Jets teammates onto the MetLife Stadium turf with an American emblem successful hand. For that matter, neither did helium endure a torn Achilles connected his archetypal violative bid arsenic helium did 51 weeks earlier.

Instead of those dizzying highs and crushing lows, Rodgers simply moved the chains from the opening snap. He completed a five-yard walk to Garrett Wilson connected the archetypal play from scrimmage earlier evading the Patriots walk unreserved for an casual five-yard scramble connected 2nd down.

Two snaps later, Rodgers got different archetypal down by throwing an 11-yard onslaught to Allen Lazard, a receiver who defected from Green Bay to the Garden State with the backmost successful 2023.

Eventually a holding punishment forced the Jets into an evident passing situation, thereby allowing the Patriots’ walk unreserved to absorption connected Rodgers, resulting successful an casual sack for Deatrich Wise Jr.

But dissimilar a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile Rodgers’ play ended connected the precise archetypal sack, the 40-year-old playing successful his 3rd crippled successful 11 days survived to spot different bid — and this 1 would extremity with a 10-yard scoring walk to Lazard.

It whitethorn person taken 514 days since helium was acquired, but Rodgers had yet tossed a touchdown successful beforehand of the location fans, each of whom became deliriously intoxicated with the excitement.

By the his archetypal 2 quarters, Rodgers had completed 15 of 20 passes — mostly connected the seams of the Patriots porous sum — for 170 yards and a touchdown.

And helium whitethorn person been adjacent amended successful the second.

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