Rodgers and the Jets started strong and then ‘the rhythm disappeared’ in another rough loss

AP Pro Football Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The way Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets’ offense started, it appeared they might be on their way to a high-scoring victory.

Instead, they stalled. And then the veteran quarterback made a game-changing mistake.

Rodgers turned the ball over on a sack that swung the momentum in the fourth quarter as Matthew Stafford marched the Los Angeles Rams down the field for the go-ahead score in a 19-9 victory over New York on Sunday.

“That was bad,” Rodgers said in almost a whisper. “A bad play.”

The Jets (4-11) lost another game in which they held a lead in the fourth quarter. That has happened six times this season, the most in the NFL.

“It’s been all year,” Rodgers said. “I think that’s what needs to clean up moving forward for some of these guys to reach their full potential is to just lock in on the details.”

The offense appeared totally focused to start when the Jets went 99 yards for a touchdown on their opening drive.

Helped by five first downs, including an 8-yard completion to Davante Adams on fourth-and-2 from the 20, the Jets got down to the Rams 11. Rodgers pulled off a pretty play-action fake, rolled to his right and found Adams in the back of the end zone for a touchdown that gave New York a 6-0 lead — Anders Carlson missed the extra point — with 23 seconds left in the opening quarter.

The Jets didn’t score another touchdown.

“The rhythm disappeared, I think,” Rodgers said. “It was a real strange game possession-wise. Not a lot of possessions, but high-volume plays. … After that, they kind of just sat back in two-high most of the game. We didn’t run the ball super efficiently and didn’t throw it very efficiently from that point forward, either.”

New York was still ahead 9-6 at halftime despite a 15-play drive that fizzled and the Jets settled for a field goal as time expired in the second quarter.

But they opened the third quarter by chewing up the clock again and interim coach Jeff Ulbrich opted to go for it on fourth-and-4 from the Rams 13 rather than kick another field goal. Rodgers, looking for his 500th career regular-season touchdown pass, threw to Adams in the end zone, but it fell incomplete to end a 14-play drive.

“Hindsight is always 20/20,” said Ulbrich, who dropped to 2-8 since replacing the fired Robert Saleh. “I really felt that we were so efficient and doing such a good job on third and fourth down, that it was the right thing to do at that point. We had some momentum. I felt like their defense was on their heels a little bit and fatigued after a long drive. I thought we could finish the drive.

“I was looking for a touchdown.”

Adams thought it was the right call.

“That’s Aaron and really the whole team’s mindset is just trying to do whatever we can to put up points,” he said. “And sometimes you’ve got to be aggressive and you live by it and you die by some it sometimes, unfortunately.”

Then, with the game tied at 9 early in the fourth quarter, Rodgers held the ball too long and was hit by a blitzing Kam Curl. The ball was knocked loose, Jared Verse recovered for the Rams and Stafford found Tyler Higbee for the go-ahead touchdown moments later.

And New York couldn’t recover.

“Yeah, I probably should have dealt the ball,” Rodgers acknowledged. “Looked like we were pretty gloved to all the spots, but I think I should have gotten quick out of the pocket and just dumped it somewhere.”

It has been a trying season for the 41-year-old Rodgers, whose playing future is uncertain. He has said he doesn’t know if he wants to continue playing, but his preference is to remain with the Jets if he returns.

But New York will have a new regime in place next season as the Jets are in the middle of searching for a new general manager and will soon begin their hunt for a new head coach.

Meanwhile, these Jets are playing out the string in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations.

“What you’re focusing on is the most important thing now,” Rodgers said. “That’s not to change the reality of the situation being 4-11, out of the playoffs, going into an unknown offseason. But we’ve got to figure out what it means to be a professional. I think that’s an important part of building culture.

“The last two weeks, we can really see who’s on board moving forward and who is ready to get out.”

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