There was a time when Aaron Rodgers was more agile, more armed and, for a time, the best quarterback in the NFL.
Those days are probably behind him now. Yet Rodgers, 40, is a 10-time Pro Bowler and four-time NFL All-Pro who has shown he can lead his New York Jets to victory. However, Sunday was not that day, as Rodgers spent an afternoon at State Farm Stadium with a heavy load. Arizona Cardinals passers flying at him, speedy defensive backs covering his receivers and often being forced to rush his throws.
Rodgers didn’t complete a pass for more than 15 yards, completing 22 of 35 pass attempts for 151 yards with no touchdowns. The Cardinals defeated Rodgers and the Jets, 31-6, drawing praise from Rodgers for their defensive tenacity and offensive skills.
“They have a lot of good players. Kyler (Murray) looked really effective,” Rodgers said. “The running back, (James) Conner, is a liability. We couldn’t bring him down much. They have a good tight end, a top receiver (Marvin Harrison Jr.).
“Defensively, they have a good plan. Budda (Baker) is obviously very talented. The corners played well. They did a good job today. They brought it to us.”
It wasn’t until late in the third quarter that Baker, the Cardinals safety whom Rodgers had praised earlier this week with ESPN’s Pat McAfee, dropped Rodgers for a sack.
What must have been the nature of the conversation between Rodgers and Davante Adams – the two formed a lethal passing and catching combo with the Green Bay Packers and reunited with the Jets – late in the third quarter and both were sitting on the bench?
Maybe it was about life. Or move to 3-7 and watch the Jets’ playoff chances take another hit. Or the frustration of not being able to do much against a swarming defense that sacked Rodgers three times, hit him five times, harassed him all day and forced a fumble.
“I try to work with him and make sure I keep his mind sane as much as possible,” Adams said of his good friend. “It’s tough, I mean, if Michael Jordan was on this team he wouldn’t be happy. … You’re not supposed to be happy when things aren’t going well, but you have to try to dig deep and try to repair it.
The day was “disappointing,” Rodgers said. The Cardinals certainly seem to be getting better at making teams feel that way.
Rodgers’ miserable afternoon in Arizona also included a brief visit to the blue medical tent after the Cardinals’ Xavier Thomas planted him and forced a fumble, sending Rodgers hard to the ground, shoulder and head first.
“They called from upstairs and told me I needed to be examined by an unaffiliated neurologist,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers didn’t miss a single snap after the shot, but that didn’t matter. He and the Jets were done for, the Cardinals continued to rise, and New York was going in the opposite direction with a wake-up call aimed at the Hall of Fame.
In the red zone with less than five minutes to play, Rodgers couldn’t get to Malachi Corley on fourth down. He waved angrily at his catcher, who was nowhere near a ball thrown out of his reach.
The Jets were 0 of 3 in the red zone that day.
“They played great defense. I missed a few shots, for sure, and situationally we were really bad,” Rodgers said.
Murray, for his part, seemed to catch the Jets off guard.
“I will say this, they probably passed the ball a little more than expected,” Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “They made their money in the running game, and Kyler did an incredible job. Credit to him for hitting us, especially when we didn’t execute.
“Sometimes we didn’t do a good enough job in terms of media coverage. They did a great job, they had a great plan for us.”
This article was originally published on Arizona Republic: Cardinals pressure Aaron Rodgers all day in blowout win over Jets
