EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (GYD) – Before he could even throw a completion New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was down with an injury.
He was sacked by Buffalo Bills’ defensive end Leonard Floyd. He stood up on his own, but began to limp and down he went, looking to the sidelines with a visible grimace.
The New York Jets and Buffalo Bills game on Monday turned out to be the most-watched game in the history of ESPN Monday Night Football. According to a press release by ESPN Press Room the game broke records as the most watched ESPN Monday Night Football game to date, peaking at 25.2 million viewers in the first half when Buffalo took a 10-3 lead late in the second quarter.
This was largely due to the highly anticipated regular season debut of Aaron Rodgers in Jets green. The energy inside Metlife Stadium as he sprinted out onto the field waving the American flag high could only be described as electric.
Many believed the Jets to be Super Bowl contenders as they completely rebuilt the team around their new quarterback. Optimism was a common emotion among Jets fans for the first time in years.
This optimism lasted less than 5 minutes into the game
The star was then helped off the field and led to the medical tent before being carted off to get X-rays. Although his X-rays came back negative, he was almost immediately downgraded from “questionable to return” to being out for the game with an ankle injury.
With Rodgers out, the Jets had to turn to 24 year old Zach Wilson. Wilson hasn’t quite been a fan favorite since the start of his career and he certainly wasn’t anticipating playing in the team’s opening game. Regardless, he came in and with the help of the defense, got the job done. The Jets edged out their division rivals 22-16 in a wild overtime victory.
An exciting win, but no one could celebrate to the fullest with the injury of their starting quarterback looming.
Head coach Robert Saleh seemed rather sure during the post-game that Rodgers would not be returning this season, stating that whatever the injury was, it “doesn’t look good.”
The team’s worries were verified Tuesday, when an MRI confirmed that the 39 year old, future hall of famer had suffered a torn achilles and would be out for the season.
It’s unclear as of now what the future of Rodgers’ career in the NFL holds, but right now the Jets are going to need to find a way to move forward as a team with Zach Wilson leading the way. There was speculation that the team had already begun looking into veteran quarterbacks to take over the number 1 spot, but Saleh quickly shut those rumors down. The coach ensured everyone that any player that was to be brought in would not be replacing Wilson, stating that “Zach is our quarterback.”