Jets have an image problem – benching Aaron Rodgers would make it worse

The Jets lost their third straight game and eighth in their last nine games on Sunday, a 26-21 loss to the Seahawks that drops them to 3-9 on the season.

Here are some thoughts and observations about the game:

1. Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich announced Monday morning that Aaron Rodgers will remain the team’s starting quarterback this week against the Dolphins. Rodgers’ status became a question after Ulbrich exceptionally left the door open shortly after Sunday’s defeat.

For me there is no point in putting Rodgers on the bench. I understand that he hasn’t played particularly well this season. I understand that Sunday’s game went down in the two-play sequence when he missed Garrett Wilson in the end zone and then threw the pick-six to Leonard Williams. But this team’s problems run much deeper than Rodgers’, and I think we’re well past the part of the season where you make the kind of move to add “spark” to the team, like Robert Saleh did in 2022 tried with Mike White.

It would be a different story if the Jets had a young quarterback behind Rodgers. They don’t do that. They have Tyrod Taylor and Adrian Martinez. Rodgers still gives the Jets the best chance to win.

There were moments on Sunday when you started to think: Here he is. This is the Aaron Rodgers I remember. He threw a nice pass to Davante Adams and later hit Adams with a quick pass after a bad snap that was truly a heads-up play. He also moved better than he had in weeks and was strengthened again by the farewell week.

All of this should give him a chance to lead the team in the final five games and try to salvage a few wins from this miserable season.

I also think he is an absolute master and that needs to be taken into account here. Benching a four-time MVP who is one of the best quarterbacks of all time is not something you can do lightly. There will be repercussions in the locker room and with players watching the Jets across the league as well as prospective coaches and GMs. The Jets have a terrible image problem right now. They are viewed as a dysfunctional franchise.

Benching Rodgers, who didn’t play well but wasn’t exactly bad either, would only reinforce this dysfunctional label.

2. During a stretch of Robert Saleh’s first season with the Jets in 2021, the team regularly defaulted and in some cases games were over by halftime. Saleh used to talk about how in most NFL games it comes down to the fourth quarter and either the defense gets a stop or the offense comes out on top. His message at the time was that the Jets had to get to this point as a team.

Well, the Jets got there and it was ugly.

Sunday’s game was another example of the defense giving up a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter and the offense failing to put together a game-winning drive. The Jets have lost six games this season that they could have won in the fourth quarter. The Broncos, Vikings, Bills, Patriots, Colts and Seahawks all found a way to beat the Jets late in a close game.

There is certainly blame to be shared. Kicker Greg Zuerlein is blamed for missing kicks against the Broncos, Bills and Patriots. The defense collapsed against the Patriots, Colts and Seahawks. The offense failed against the Vikings, Bills, Colts and Seahawks.

When the Jets’ 2024 autopsy is complete, fourth-quarter failures will be a big part of it. This team is missing something when the game is on the line. Maybe it’s attitude, fight, heart, guts… I don’t know exactly what it is, but I’m sure they don’t have it and it showed again on Sunday.

3. A bright spot in Sunday’s game was the play of rookie left tackle Olu Fashanu. He did not allow any pressure on 42 passes.

Fashanu will now have a good run at left tackle with Tyron Smith on injured reserve. There is no reason for the Jets to bring Smith back this season. They need to give Fashanu this time to develop.

It’s pretty clear that Brock Bowers will be a star for the Raiders and the question has already arisen as to whether the Jets should have signed him instead of Fashanu. I understand it. You look at Bowers and it’s hard not to be impressed. But the Jets needed a left tackle more than a tight end. I still understand their reasoning for drafting Fashanu.

However, this conversation isn’t going away, and it’s always difficult for a lineman to compete with someone who scores touchdowns in the comparison game.

It’s still very early, but Fashanu is showing some positive signs for the future.

4. Haason Reddick continues to have little to no influence. According to PFF, he had three pressures and two tackles in Sunday’s game.

Reddick only has a ½ sack in five games with the Jets. The Reddick trade will go down as one of the worst of Joe Douglas’s time with the Jets, especially when viewed through the lens of trading Bryce Huff and John Franklin-Myers for him. Then add the holdout. It’s ugly.

Insightful statistics: The Jets have called 13 defensive pass interference penalties this season. That’s the second-highest rate in the NFL. The Lions have 15.

SURPRISING SNAP NUMBER: Xavier Gipson was credited with a defensive snap. No, he didn’t play two ways on Sunday. He remained on the field on fourth down, believing the Seahawks were punting and the Jets were marked for 12 men on the field.

GAME BALL: Kene Nwangwu was called up from the practice squad on Saturday and had a 99-yard kickoff return and a forced fumble on a kickoff in his first game for the Jets. This is quite a debut.