Sep 19, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) runs with the ball against New England Patriots cornerbacks Marcus Jones (25) and Christian Gonzalez (0) during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Aaron Rodgers may be new to the Jets and Patriots rivalry, but this win was a long time coming for New York Jets fans. After over a decade of being dominated and decimated by future Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the Jets finally won a laugher against New England.
Yes, there have been a few wins over the Patriots in recent years, but none like this. None where the Jets were believed to be the better team but just had to prove it. None in which their expectations for the season are greater than that of New England. That was the case tonight, for a nationwide audience, and the Jets did not disappoint.
Hoping to jump start the offense, Aaron Rodgers and the offense came out running up-tempo while throwing early and often to a variety of receivers. An early holding penalty on Morgan Moses cut their first drive short, but Rodgers followed that with a touchdown pass to Allen Lazard for the first score of the day.
A second quarter touchdown run from Breece Hall gave the Jets their second touchdown of the day as he got in from the 1-yard line. There was a wrinkle on that sequence as defensive tackle Solomon Thomas lined up at fullback on one play and was an in motion blocker on the TD run.
Rodgers’ second and final TD pass came in the third quarter when he hit Garrett Wilson from five yards out. The biggest receiver on the day for Rodgers was Tyler Conklin who finished the day with five receptions for 93 yards.
On defense, it was another monster day for Will McDonald who, coming off of a three sack performance last week, picked up two more today. As a group the Jets racked up seven sacks in all. In addition to McDonald, Chuck Clark, Quinnen Williams and Javon Kinlaw had one apiece while Michael Clemons, Solomon Thomas, Takkarist McKinley and Leonard Taylor all had a half.
On the injury front, right tackle Morgan Moses did leave the game with a knee injury and will undergo an MRI today for further evaluation.
Next up for the Jets after a “mini-bye” will be the Denver Broncos at home on September 29th at 1pm.