The Jets added plenty of fuel to the AFC East discussion on Thursday night.
New York thoroughly dominated its division rival seemingly hitting their stride in a 24-3 win over the Patriots. Aaron Rodgers looked to be himself on "Thursday Night Football," tossing a pair of touchdowns in the win. Not only was his arm lively, but Rodgers showcased a bit of mobility that may quell some doubts over whether his legs still have some juice left.
First-round pick Drake Maye also saw his first NFL action in mop-up duty. Both Maye and starter Jacoby Brissett fell victim to a makeshift Patriots offensive line, as Maye was sacked Twice and Brissett hit the turf five times in the contest.
The Patriots have a mini-bye before they have to face the 49ers in Week 4, another tough matchup for their offensive line. The Jets take on the Broncos, welcoming back former draft selection Zach Wilson, who is QB2 behind Bo Nix for Denver.
NFL POWER RANKINGS:Where do Jets, Patriots sit entering Week 3 matchup?
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USA TODAY Sports provided live updates, highlights and more from the Week 3 "Thursday Night Football" matchup below. All times are Eastern.
It was a total shellacking from the first quarter on, as New York exorcised demons of division rivalries past with a 24-3 victory over the Patriots on Thursday.
Aaron Rodgers looked to be in vintage form: Rodgers finished 27-of-35 passing for 281 yards and two touchdowns. While the veteran's arm looked lively per usual, it was his mobility that proved to be eye-opening, as his legs looked spry for a player of his advanced age coming off an Achilles injury.
The Patriots are giving Drake Maye some playing time in this "Thursday Night Football" blowout. The No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft will look to lead the Patriots on their first touchdown drive of the night.
The Jets extended their lead to 24-3 with a chip-shot make by Greg Zuerlein. It marked his first made field goal of the day after he missed from 45 earlier in the game.
On his sixth carry of the night, Stevenson was stripped by the Jets safety Chuck Clark. New York recovered and set the Jets up with the ball at New England's 37-yard line.
The Jets are continuing to dominate the Patriots. New York has outgained New England by 271 yards and appears well on its way to a 2-1 start to the 2024 season.
Now, the only question is whether Aaron Rodgers will log his first 300-yard passing game since 2021 or if the Jets will take a conservative approach to end what's shaping up to be a blowout.
Moses, the Jets' starting right tackle, suffered an injury just before the end of the third quarter when a Patriots defender rolled up on his left leg. The 11-year veteran remained face down on the ground and was writhing in pain as the New York medical staff tended to him.
Moses has made 146 starts during his NFL career and has missed just three games since the 2015 season. Rookie first-round pick Olu Fashanu is the next man up on New York's depth chart.
Aaron Rodgers took a big shot on a third-and-2 pass when Patriots linebacker slammed into him a beat after he released a pass to Tyler Conklin for a first down.
Rodgers was no worse for wear after the hit and got up with no issue.
Brissett was sacked for a fourth time as the Patriots tried to answer the Jets' touchdown, and he remained on the ground briefly after the play. He eventually got up to one knee and stood back up before exiting the field on a fourth-and-26.
Brissett's status will bear monitoring as the Patriots trail 21-3 with 3:43 left in the third quarter. If New England writes the game off as a blowout, Drake Maye could see his first NFL action in relief of Brissett.
Aaron Rodgers makes a great throw to the front pylon to hit Garrett Wilson for a 2-yard touchdown. Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez tried to undercut the route for a pick-six, but Rodgers put it just high enough for Wilson to jump, make the grab and get his feet down before going out of bounds.
The Jets now lead 21-3 after Greg Zuerlein's extra point was good.
The Jets have already used two of their three timeouts for the second half and we aren't even at the ahlfway point in the third quarter. The good news for Jets fans: New York has an 11-point lead and is in scoring range again, so this may not end up mattering.
Any hope the Patriots had of cutting into the lead to start the second half was quickly lost after the Jets once again got pressure on Jacoby Brissett. The Patriots QB was hit by several Jets player as he released a third-down pass intended for Demario Douglas. It was knocked down with ease by D.J. Reed to force a three-and-out.
Brissett got up slowly after the play and walked to the New England sideline.
Rodgers had 170 passing yards in the first half. That's just six yards less than his season-high 176 yards he had in the Jets' Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Rodgers should surpass that mark in the second half with ease. He is also on pace for his first 300-yard passing performance since the Green Bay Packers' 45-30 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 14 of the 2021 NFL season.
The Jets outgained the Patriots 252-40 in a dominant first half where Rodgers shined. The 40-year-old completed 15 of 20 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown while positioning New York to score on three of its four drives.
Conversely, the Patriots struggled to do anything on offense while their defense missed the presence of middle linebacker and defensive signal-caller Ja'Whaun Bentley. They should feel lucky to be down 11, especially since Greg Zuerlein missed a 45-yard field goal just before halftime.
The Jets may a WMD off the edge – a Will McDonald, that is.
The 2023 first-round selection had a quiet rookie season, but is seemingly breaking out in a big way. He has added another pair of sacks on "Thursday Night Football," the second, unblocked off the edge. Still, the Jets need the help off the edge, with Jermaine Johnson's injury and Haason Reddick's holdout.
McDonald dropped Johnson's sack celebration, paying tribute to his injured teammate.
Not so close.
Following the Jets' second score of the night, cameras caught quarterback Aaron Rodgers and head coach Robert Saleh attempt to share a hug – until Rodgers awkwardly pushes Saleh away.
The Jets get their second touchdown of the day after Hall runs around the left side of the line, rolls over a body and breaks the plane just before his knee hit the ground.
The officials originally ruled Hall short of the goal-line, but a video review clearly showed he made it into the end zone on the play.
Peppers remained down on the field after the Patriots allowed a 27-yard catch-and-run to Allen Lazard. The starting safety eventually limped off the field and headed straight into the blue medical tent to receive treatment.
Peppers would be listed as "questionable" to return after some time in the tent.
The Jets significantly outplayed the Patriots in the first quarter. Aaron Rodgers performed very well, completing 8 of his 9 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown while showing better mobility than he did in the first two weeks of the season.
On the other side, the Patriots' offense struggled to stem the Jets' pass rush while the New England defense had issues without Ja'Whaun Bentley.
If this continues, it could be a long night for the Patriots faithful.
Quinnen Williams gets early pressure on Brissett on a third-and-7 near midfield. Will McDonald and Micheal Clemons help Williams clean up to bring down Brissett and force the Patriots to punt.
The Jets will get the ball back on their own 9-yard line, up 7-0.
The Jets QB is looking good through two drives against the Patriots. He has completed 8 of 9 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. His lone incompletion came on a nice, back-shoulder strike to Garrett Wilson, who couldn't keep his feet in bounds on the sideline to make the play.
Rodgers also appears to have better mobility than he did in the first couple of weeks of the season. He scrambled once for a 5-yard gain and picked up a first down on the carry.
The Jets get on the board first after Rodgers hits Lazard for a 10-yard touchdown. Rodgers threw the ball quickly to Lazard at the line of scrimmage and the veteran receiver made a man miss before running into the end zone.
The Jets made the extra point to take the 7-0 lead.
Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai stopped Breece Hall at the line of scrimmage after the running back caught a pass out of the backfield from Aaron Rodgers.
Tavai threw Hall to the ground after the play, drawing a 15-yard personal foul penalty and putting the Jets in field goal range.
The Jets pressured Jacoby Brissett on each of his two dropbacks on the Patriots' first possession. It looks like Robert Saleh's plan will be to blitz Brissett often to take advantage of New England's banged-up offensive line, which is missing left tackle Vederian Lowe and left guard Sidy Sow.
Aaron Rodgers had the Jets offense moving early to start their "TNF" matchup with the Patriots, but a holding penalty on Morgan Moses and a sack on the ensuing first-and-20 put the Jets behind the chains.
Eventually, the Jets opted to punt rather than attempt a 60-plus-yard field goal. The Patriots will get the ball on the 20-yard line on their first possession.
The Jets vs. Patriots game will start at 8:15 p.m. ET, the same start time as all of Amazon's "Thursday Night Football" games for the 2024 NFL season.
NFL fans hoping to catch the "Thursday Night Football" game live must be subscribed to Amazon Prime to stream the contest.
Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color commentary), and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporter) will be on the call for Amazon's broadcast.
Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff’s predictions for the “Thursday Night Football” Week 3 matchup:
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Just two players in 2024 NFL player pool surpass 40 years old: Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis. Coincidentally, both players were teammates on the Green Bay Packers earlier in their careers.
Here's the full list of the top 11 oldest players in football:
While he hasn't been elevated to starter just yet, it appears that New England has a plan to ease Maye into the starting quarterback role.
The organization is giving Maye an abnormally large number of reps with the first-team offense in practice, according to head coach Jerod Mayo, who acknowledged that there's a delicate balance to strike between Brissett preparing for game week and Maye preparing for his career.
Jets fans hoping to see their key offseason acquisition will have to wait. The pass rusher acquired from the Eagles hasn’t ended his holdout and has yet to play in 2024.
"Everyone goes through their own process, and I'll stand firm that when he gets here – we're going to welcome him with open arms, we're going to love him up and he's going to be part of this football team," Jets head coach Robert Saleh said earlier in the season.
The biggest selling point for Belichick would have to come on the offensive side of the ball. While Belichick enjoyed a rocky few years at the end of the New England tenure, his experience managing Tom Brady would make him a suitable choice to manage Aaron Rodgers. If he brings in a young, up-and-coming offensive coordinator, the Jets may be able to get more excited about their offense than they have been with Saleh at the helm.
If Belichick simply planned on targeting retread coordinator hires, the Jets may sour on him. But at the very least, the Jets will probably give him an interview if they move on from Saleh after 2024. After all, Belichick was famously the one who got away back in 2000 when he joined the Patriots.
There are other landing spots that make sense for the “Hoodie,” as well.
If Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers in 2024, then he could continue to cement his case as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
Currently, Rodgers sits just 1,963 yards back of Hall of Fame Dolphins QB Dan Marino for eighth place on the all-time career passing list. That could be easy work for Rodgers if he jells with his skill position group, highlighted by wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
There’s a good chance that Rodgers could even surpass Matt Ryan for seventh by the time the season is over: Rodgers is just 3,394 yards behind Ryan’s place.
Of course, the yards don’t matter as much as the TDs: Rodgers has some work to do to catch up to former teammate Brett Favre. He’s 30 tuddies behind Favre for fourth-place all-time, a mark that’s possible to hit, but will take a vintage Rodgers to do it. – Joe Rivera
Career passing yardage list:
Career passing TDs list:
Earlier in 2024, Aaron Rodgers once again made headlines – by almost headlining a presidential ticket.
Rodgers was hotly rumored to be named as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election, but that didn’t come to pass.
RFK Jr. confirmed that he was speaking with Rodgers, but he ultimately selected California lawyer Nicole Shanahan – no relation to the football Shanahans – as his VP candidate instead.
Kennedy ultimately suspended his presidential campaign, sparing all of us a Rodgers cabinet appointment. – Joe Rivera
Nick Bosa's five-year, $170 million contract signed in 2023 with the San Francisco 49ers makes him not only the top-paid edge rusher, but also the NFL's highest-paid defensive player. That’s a group that Jets edge rusher Haason Reddick looks to break into, but the possibility currently seems distant given his holdout.
The Jets will be without a key defensive cog on Thursday night, as linebacker C.J. Mosley will be out while he nurses a foot injury. Mosley is a five-time, second-team All-Pro, signing with the Jets in 2019.
Since the Jets hired Saleh ahead of the 2021 season, he has led the Jets to a 19-34 record – a .358 win percentage.
New York has never qualified for the playoffs under Saleh.
It's going to be a beautiful night to play football at MetLife Stadium. It will be about 77 degrees when the Patriots and Jets kick off on Thursday night and it shouldn't drop below 70 degrees while the two teams are playing, according to the Weather Channel's forecast.
There is just a 1 percent chance of precipitation throughout the game. A light breeze will blow but will be capped at about 5 mph. As such, the weather shouldn't have much of an impact on the game.
Denver Broncos running back Audric Estime was the only other NFL player close to 20 years old when the season started. He saw his first action with the Denver Broncos on Sept. 8, just two days after his 21st birthday.
The NFL's 25 youngest players as of Sept. 1 were all less than 22 years old. They are as follows:
The Patriots are without three starters against the Jets: left tackle Vedarian Lowe, left guard Sidy Sow and middle linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley. They also have decided to make Marco Wilson, who served as the team's No. 4 cornerback in the first two games of the season, inactive in favor of Alex Austin and Marcellus Dial.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft revealed in a pregame interview with Amazon Prime's Taylor Rooks that he decided five years ago that Jerod Mayo would be Bill Belichick's successor.
"Jerod learned a lot from Bill in the technical background," Kraft said. "But they're each special individuals. I've gotten to know Jerod over the last 15 years and, you know, I picked him 5 years ago to be our next head coach. It's great that he had the ability to train under Bill."
Mayo is making Kraft's decision look like a sound one so far. Mayo led the Patriots to a surprising upset over the Bengals in Week 1 while New England took the Seahawks to overtime in Week 2 before losing by a field goal.
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