Aaron Rodgers’ reattempt at a debut with the New York Jets didn’t quite pan out as fans had hoped. He finished the night with just 167 passing yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception, ultimately losing to the 49ers. However, for former NFL quarterback Alex Smith, it wasn’t the Jets’ offense that struggled—it was the team’s secondary.
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During his appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Smith expressed his strong concerns about Salah’s defense, one of their redeeming qualities last season. The former QB believed that the Green Gang would be able to contain the 49ers’ offense, especially since they played without Christian McCaffrey.
He added that the Jets’ defense managed to keep the Niners’ offense at bay for the first two drives. However, as the game progressed, they had no answers for Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme.
“To be honest, I thought their defense didn’t show up. This is supposed to be their calling card. No Christian McCaffrey and I thought they had a chance in this game and they did for the first two drives and that went away.”
The Jets’ defense gave up 401 total yards of offense. While their secondary managed to limit Brock Purdy and his star receivers to 221 passing yards, their front line struggled to contain the ground game. They surrendered 180 rushing yards, with Jordan Mason wreaking havoc.
Rodgers’s performance, on the other hand, didn’t concern Smith, who believes Rodgers moved well and did his best, despite the challenge being too great for him.
Smith felt Rodgers’ return couldn’t be harder
A-Rod returned to the field and played more than four snaps this time, but he was unable to guide his team to victory. Leading up to the game, the New York media and many analysts were optimistic about the team’s chances on opening day.
However, the 49ers demonstrated the significant gap between the two teams, one too large for even Rodgers to bridge, resulting in a disappointing outcome for the Jets.
Addressing this, Smith pointed out that returning from injury and playing competitively for the first time in a year and a half was already a significant challenge. However, opening the season on the road against the reigning NFC champs and Super Bowl runner-ups, with arguably the best roster in the league, made the task even more daunting.
“Aaron hasn’t played in a year and a half. This is to be expected. It wasn’t going to be smooth. They were going on the road on Monday Night football to play one of the best teams in football. I thought it was such a ridiculous task,” Smith said.
Speaking from experience, the Utah alum acknowledged that the return was never going to be smooth. Aaron didn’t play much in the preseason and hadn’t been tackled in over a year. The 40-year-old QB was still able to maintain his footing, showing splashes of brilliance.
