The New York Jets handily defeated the New England Patriots by the score of 24-3 in what was Aaron Rodgers‘ first home game for the team. As fans are well aware, Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week One of the 2023 NFL season, a game that had the Jets playing on the road against the Buffalo Bills. This season, they opened their season with two consecutive road games against the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans.
The game also saw Rodgers throw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver drafted in the first round of any NFL Draft for the first time in his career. His third quarter touchdown to wide receiver Garrett Wilson marked the occasion as all of wide receivers with the Green Bay Packers were drafted in the second round or later (Green Bay has not drafted a wide receiver in the first round since 2002).
But what many people were talking about after the game was not the high-level at which Rodgers and the Jets played, but of an seemingly awkward interaction between the star quarterback and his head coach, Robert Saleh.
NFL Fans Went Nuts Over the “Awkward” Moment Between Aaron Rodgers and Robert Saleh
Rodgers completed 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 118.9 passer rating. In addition to his touchdown pass to Wilson in the third quarter, Rodgers threw one to Allen Lazard in the first quarter.
Running back Breece Hall added a rushing touchdown in the second quarter, and it was after this score that the seemingly awkward moment between Rodgers and Saleh took place.
who reads lips pic.twitter.com/HDoxWuntY6
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 20, 2024
The reactions from this video clipped ranged from humorous, to concerned, to angry. Some, however, brushed it off as nothing. After all, it was only the second quarter. Rodgers may have been saying that it was too early for them to celebrate.
As it turns out, no one was exactly right, at least according to Rodgers.
New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Reveals What Really Happened in Exchange with Robert Saleh
In his postgame press conference, Rodgers was asked about the awkward moment on the sidelines with Coach Saleh. Rodgers had a very reasonable response:
Aaron Rodgers explains awkward exchange with Robert pic.twitter.com/lOyAAP3H8L
— cinematic 🎥 (@cinematic1x) September 20, 2024
“No. It was not awkward at all. He’s not a big hugger, usually, so I didn’t know he was going for the hug. He likes to do the two-hand chest push as well.
“But he talks a lot about two-score leads, so I just kinda gave him a push and said, ‘Two score lead.’ That’s what happened.”
As one can see from Rodgers’ response, those who brushed it off or stated that it was “too early” to celebrate were the closest to being right.
By all accounts, Rodgers and Saleh have a high level of mutual respect for each other. There is no reason to think that there is any form of tension between them.
Winning games does help.
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