The New York Jets finished 7-10 for the second consecutive season in 2023, falling far short of their goal of competing for and winning the Super Bowl. At this point of the offseason last year, many were predicting that the Jets could potentially come out of the AFC due to their trade for Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers.
Unfortunately, Rodgers and the Jets did not come close to competing for a Super Bowl. The four-time NFL MVP tore his Achilles just four snaps into his first season in New York and was lost for the year. The free agents that the Jets signed to play with Rodgers, namely his former Packers wide receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, were abysmal without their long-time teammate.
After a long, frustrating season, general manager Joe Douglas spent the offseason building up a better team around his future Hall of Fame quarterback. He signed free agent wide receiver Mike Williams and improved the offensive line.
Once again, hopes are high that New York will be able to be competitive, but one former Jets player indicated that their potential success may be limited to just the regular season.
Former New York Jets Wide Receiver Plaxico Burress Calls Aaron Rodgers a Great “Regular Season” Quarterback
![Former New York Jets Wide Receiver Takes Subtle Shot at 4x NFL MVP Quarterback Aaron Rodgers 1 New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/USATSI_22171895_168400517_lowres-200x300.jpg)
During a recent appearance on The Carson Show, former Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress discussed the greatest quarterbacks of all time. The debate included discussion on whether or not NFL Playoffs success should factor into declaring a quarterback as one of the greatest.
During the debate, Burress said of Rodgers:
“Aaron Rodgers, let’s face the facts, is a great regular season quarterback. He’s a great regular season quarterback with four MVP’s.
“Listen, if you’re the MVP of the league, and you’ve won it four times, there has to be a point in time when those MVP’s have to be translating into world championships.
“Best regular season quarterback is Aaron Rodgers.”
“Best regular season quarterback is Aaron Rodgers.”
— @plaxicoburress pic.twitter.com/M4ha9QwPmB
— The Carton Show (@TheCartonShow) June 5, 2024
While the Jets have yet to experience much of Rodgers in either the regular season or the NFL Playoffs, his career numbers in both categories support was Burress is insinuating.
New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Struggled to Win in the NFL Playoffs
![Former New York Jets Wide Receiver Takes Subtle Shot at 4x NFL MVP Quarterback Aaron Rodgers 2 Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/USATSI_19850794_168400517_lowres-188x300.jpg)
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In his career, Rodgers has a 103.6 passer rating, has thrown for 59,055 yards, has 475 touchdown passes, and just 105 interceptions. As Burress mentioned, he also has won four NFL MVP Awards. There is no doubt that when he does decided to retire, Rodgers will be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
However, Rodgers has struggled to maintain his high level of play in the postseason. Of course, he led the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLV and won Super Bowl MVP. Since then, though, he has a 7-9 record in the postseason.
Now, it is pretty well known that Rodgers has not benefited from having good defenses for the majority of his career. To be fair, he is arguably the biggest reason the Packers returned to the NFC Championship Game four times since winning the Super Bowl (they lost all four).
However, the greatest of greats elevate their games in the playoffs. Rodgers, to be frank, has not. Since winning the Super Bowl, Rodgers has a 96.5 passer rating, 4,377 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in 16 playoff games.
These numbers are far from bad. In fact, they are pretty good. That being said, they are not as good as his regular season numbers. Rodgers has rarely been bad in the playoffs, but he also has rarely elevated his game when the regular season ends.
The Jets will hope that changes this year.
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