Aaron Rodgers made his New York Jets debut Saturday night against the crosstown Giants at MetLife Stadium, finishing his brief outing strong after a slow start.
Rodgers played two series, completing 5 of 8 passes for 47 yards and a gorgeous touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to give the Jets a 7-0 lead. Wilson caught all three of his targets for 30 yards and the score, strengthening the pair's already impressive cohesion in training camp.
Tuesday, Aug. 29, is the NFL deadline for clubs to reduce their rosters from 90 to 53 players. After that, the Giants will have a player vote to determine team captains, and then it's all systems go for the Sept. 10 opener against the Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football" at MetLife Stadium.
Maybe the only one who saw the bright side was Jets coach Robert Saleh — the man who risked everything by putting Rodgers into this meaningless preseason finale.
"It was good for him," Saleh said after the Jets finished off a 32-24 win over the Giants. "He needs a little of that action. It was good to show he still has mobility. He still has legs."
After the starters went out, CB Brandin Echols intercepted a Tommy DeVito pass and returned it 67 yards for a TD. The Jets' 14-0 lead over the Giants was the team's first double-digit first=quarter advantage since the Joe Namath-led Jets raced out in front of the G-Men 17-0 at Yale Bowl in 1969.
The Giants chopped at away at the deficit in the second half, but Tim Boyle's 4-yard TD pass to Alex Erickson and subsequent 2-point conversion pass to Jason Brownlee cemented the game in the fourth quarter. Boyle and Erickson finished the scoring with a 14-yard hook-up in the waning moments.
Rodgers got the ball back in great field position at the Jets' 48-yard line. After an overthrow to tight end C.J. Uzomah, Rodgers appeared irritated. But that quickly went away as Wilson drew a 22-yard pass interference call and, two plays later, Rodgers hit Wilson on the 14-yard score. Despite tight coverage from the Giants' Gemon Green, Rodgers took a quick drop, flicked the ball off his back foot and still was able to zip it past Green's right ear and into Wilson's hands.
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