EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets were driving for another score, a touchdown that could have sent the struggling squad to a big lead and perhaps a much-needed victory.
Instead, a missed opportunity was followed by a momentum-shifting mistake.
“It’s disappointing,” Rodgers said after the Jets’ 26-21 loss to Seattle on Sunday. “I mean, what else can you say?”
A 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kene Nwangwu put the Jets ahead 21-7 in the second quarter. Kicker Anders Carlson recovered Laviska Shenault’s fumbled kickoff return on the next play, and Rodgers went back to work.
But a promising drive was short-circuited when he missed a wide-open Garrett Wilson for what would have been a touchdown. On the next play, Rodgers targeted Wilson again — but defensive end Leonard Williams stepped in front of the pass, tipped it to himself and scampered 92 yards for a touchdown.
“We’ve had a lot of chances in these situations,” Rodgers said. “A lot of these games come down to one play, whether you make it or miss it. Sometimes that play happens in the second quarter. Make that play, (it’s) 28-7. Different ballgame.”
Zach Charbonnet’s go-ahead 8-yard touchdown with 5:31 remaining gave the Seahawks the lead for the first time. But Rodgers and the Jets (3-9) had one more chance to pull out a comeback win, something he did so often during his many seasons in Green Bay.
Rodgers was sacked by Williams on third down. And then his desperation heave for Wilson from the Seahawks 34 fell way incomplete in the end zone — and another disappointing loss was sealed. And the Jets fell to 0-5 in situations during which the offense had the ball with a chance to win on its last possession.
“We have to figure that out,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “We have to figure that out quickly. It’s never on one person, it isn’t. It’s on the entire collective group, from players to coaches to every single human being out there on offense.
“We have to be better in those moments.”
New York, which fired general manager Joe Douglas last week, has dropped three in a row and eight of its past nine. It fell to 1-6 under Ulbrich.
“We started by playing really good complementary football in all three phases,” Ulbrich said. “We didn’t end the first half the way that we needed to and should have. The second half was definitely not clean football at all by all three phases.
“Can’t win like that.”
Rodgers, who turns 41 on Monday, finished 21 of 39 for 185 yards and touchdown passes to Davante Adams and Isaiah Davis. But the Jets were shut out in the second half.
“There were a lot of things,” Rodgers said when asked what the difference was in this one. “But I think the two-play stretch where I missed Garrett open to go up 28-7 and threw a pick-6 that kind of changed the momentum of the game.”
Now, there are questions if perhaps New York might be better served by benching Rodgers in favor of Tyrod Taylor to spark things — a scenario Ulbrich hasn’t envisioned.
“Not as of today,” Ulbrich said.
But with each loss, the latest clinching a ninth straight losing season, Rodgers’ future with the franchise is put under an even more intense spotlight. He remains under contract for next season, but the deal contains no guaranteed money. That could provide an opening for the Jets to cut ties with the four-time NFL MVP who was brought to New York to end the franchise’s playoff drought, which is about to reach 14 straight seasons.
There were also reports during the bye-week break that owner Woody Johnson broached the idea of sitting a then-banged up Rodgers after Week 4. Rodgers says he’s now healthier than he has been all season, and his scrambling Sunday supported that.
But even Williams cited Rodgers’ age as being a potential reason for how his pick-6 unfolded.
“I think he’s an older guy — he doesn’t want to take big hits like that anymore,” Williams said. “When he feels a guy coming full speed at him, he’s going to chuck it and duck.”
And now Rodgers is fielding questions about hitting the bench — whether it’s the decision of Ulbrich or Johnson — and not finishing this season on the field.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Rodgers said when asked if he has considered that. “We’ll figure that out when we have those conversations.”
Rodgers reiterated that he wants to continue playing this season as long as he’s healthy. But he declined to entertain a question about what he might do if the Jets made a change at quarterback.
“It’s a hypothetical, you know?” Rodgers said. “I’ll tell you after the fact if that happens.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press
