The 4-11 Jets visit Orchard Park Sunday afternoon to meet the 12-3 Bills in a relatively meaningless contest.
It easily could be Aaron Rodgers’ beginning of the end of his Jets’ career. Or will it be?
Buffalo has the second playoff seed in its pocket unless the Jets pull an upset and the hapless Patriots follow with one next week. A Bills’ win Sunday gives them the AFC second seed.
As we all know, that’s unlikely to happen unless Josh Allen is lost for the season over the next two games.
Instead, you’re bound to see a heavy dose of Bills’ rushing on a day forecasted to be 55 degrees and raining. It likely won’t be a good day for fantasy owners, at least on the Buffalo side.
As for the Jets, Rodgers has called it an “audition” for he and his teammates over these final two games. It may be Rodgers’ penultimate performance in Green and White in a shortened stop in the Big Apple.
For what’s it’s worth, the former four-time MVP has given Jets’ fans their best performance by a Jets’ quarterback since Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Rodgers has shown that he can still play with his 3,511 passing yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions, good enough for a 90.6 passer rating.
He has had his moments, but the defense, the placekicker, and the coaching staff also had too many lapses and deflated the postseason expectations.
However, the 41-year-old quarterback’s relationship with Jets’ owner Woody Johnson has deteriorated since the two exchanged a phone call after the Jets’ loss to Minnesota in London.
That was the end of former head coach Robert Saleh, and presumably put Rodgers in the driver’s seat. Rodgers would often mention his discussions with Johnson, and he now refers to the Johnson family in general terms.
That relationship has apparently ended.
Rodgers has been taking shots at the Johnson family, recently stating that Johnson’s teenage son, Brick, would make the decision to cut him as well as write his check.
The latest signs point to Rodgers pushing for his release by the team, appearing to his’ choice.
Rodgers had stated that he would be willing to take a pay cut to stay on with a new regime.
But the Jets have plenty of other issues. For starters, you can begin with the pass rush and the running game. Both of them have been relatively non- existent.
Since he ended his holdout, designated pass rusher Haason Reddick has nine tackles and a half sack. Breece Hall has rushed for 774 yards, but easily passing the 1,000-yard mark for the season supposedly was a given. Hall lost some opportunities when Rodgers called audibles for a pass at the last minute.
Rodgers’ decision on whether to leave the Jets and reportedly join the 49ers for a championship run may depend on the new head coach hire.
In Green Bay, though, Rodgers had plenty of input with his head coach. With the Jets, he apparently didn’t have a strong relationship with Saleh. Keeping that in mind, Rodgers will take a long look at the perspective candidates.
At the top of the Jets’ new coach list should be Mike Vrabel or Brian Flores, and hire on of them as soon as possible. The Jets need a season head coach who can rattle the cage, not a coordinator like Detroit’s offensive guru Ben Johnson. Would you go for another run with Rex Ryan?
The latest rumor has former Bears’ boss Matt Nagy in the running for the job. Nagy was 34-31 in four years with a division title and a playoff loss.
It’s Jets-Bills Sunday with a second seed on the line for Buffalo, and possibly the beginning of the final chapter in Rodgers’ brief Jets’ career.