EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who arrived last year saying he wanted to add another Super Bowl trophy to the “lonely” Lombardi in the team’s showcase, was reduced to a less ambitious goal Sunday after falling to 3-8.
One that doesn’t involve a trophy.
“I’m in my 20th year,” Rodgers said quietly after a 28-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium. “I figured out a way to do this for a long time. You have to remember why you fell in love with this game.”
Rodgers was explaining how he will keep himself motivated over the final six games — perhaps the last six games of his legendary career. His bravado has been muted by a team that finds new ways to lose week after week and by a franchise on the verge of missing the playoffs for the 14th straight season.
His two-year tally with the Jets: One torn Achilles and only three wins.
On Sunday, the Jets overcame a 13-0 deficit, took a 27-22 lead late in the fourth quarter and proceeded to melt down on defense in the final two minutes. They allowed Anthony Richardson to go 70 yards on six plays for the winning touchdown with 46 seconds left — a 4-yard run by the second-year quarterback.
Rodgers, outplayed by Richardson, delivered yet another mediocre performance. He completed 22 of 29 passes, including two touchdowns, but he managed only 184 yards — his second straight game under 200. Afterward, Rodgers refused to use the word “shocked” to describe the team’s plight.
“That’s a buzzword, so I’m not going to touch that response to what you just said,” he said to a reporter. “I’m just going to echo that I’m disappointed.”
The four-time MVP also seemed unhappy by at least one coaching decision. After taking a 23-16 lead with 13:03 left in the fourth quarter on a short touchdown catch by tight end Kenny Yeboah, Rodgers wanted to go for two. He motioned “two” to the sideline. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich opted for the extra point, which gave them an eight-point advantage.
Rodgers said he was “under the impression” they’d go for two because it was decided before the drive on the sideline.
“Something changed in the meantime,” he said. ” … So I had assumed two and looked over and couldn’t really tell. [It] looked like they were holding up one. I was a little confused because I thought we had talked about going for two.”
Later, Ulbrich made another questionable decision. He opted for a 35-yard field goal attempt instead of going for the kill shot on a fourth-and-2 from the Colts’ 17-yard line with 2:41 to play.
Rodgers, who passed Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino to move into eighth place on the NFL’s all-time passing yardage list, wanted to go for it.
“Yeah, but, I mean, Brick felt good about Anders [Carlson] kicking it and the defense stopping it,” he said. “But, yeah, of course [I wanted to go for it]. I felt like we needed to get to 30 just to be in the game. Now, obviously, the way we played, still needed to get to 30 to win.
“But, yeah, if we were a great team, we would have scored seven there.”
The Jets, losers of seven of their past eight, aren’t a great team. A great team doesn’t start the game without a first down on its first five possessions.
Ulbrich, now 1-5 since replacing the fired Robert Saleh, second-guessed himself for taking the field goal.
“I was confident the defense was going to get the stop, that’s why I opted to kick the field goal there and not go for it,” Ulbrich said. “In hindsight, I probably should have gone for it.”
The defense has given up 26 points per game since Ulbrich replaced Saleh.
Once the hallmark of the team, the unit imploded in crunch time. Richardson, who began the day as a 44% passer, went 3-for-3 for 60 yards on the winning drive, including a 39-yard strike to a wide-open Alec Pierce. He found a soft spot in a zone between cornerback Sauce Gardner and safety Jalen Mills.
“Ultimately, that last drive was just very demoralizing and just wasn’t our standard,” cornerback D.J. Reed said.
Rodgers got the ball back with 45 seconds left, no timeouts remaining. This was the fourth time he had chance to pull a victory on their final possession, the way he has done so many times in his career. But the fourth time, there was no magic.
It was an ugly finish. The last three plays: a fumble by Rodgers for a loss of 11; a short completion; a sack to end the game.
Ulbrich, who usually glows about Rodgers, offered no superlatives on this day.
“I know Aaron would love to be playing better, but it’s not just him,” the coach said. “It’s all of us.”
“Pretty bad play,” Rodgers said of his fumble.
Pretty bad season.
