The New York Jets' 2023 season has gone in the wrong direction, and quickly. Four plays into his tenure, quarterback Aaron Rodgers fully tore his Achilles. With that, the team pivoted back to Zach Wilson, who struggled since being selected second overall in 2021. This past week, the Jets lost their second straight game, falling 15-10 to the New England Patriots.
During the game, cameras showed wide receiver Garrett Wilson getting into a heated argument with Wilson while running back Michael Carter II was seen being held back by a teammate during an exchange with running backs coach Taylor Embree. The frustrations were evident on the sidelines in that game.
During his latest weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers spoke about the sideline incidents that took place on Sunday, and said that he believes his teammates should be more poised.
"I think we need to hold our poise a little bit better across the board," said Rodgers, h/t ESPN. "Just offensively, we need to not have some of those things happen on the sideline and to be a little better and to be a, just be a little better competitors."
Aaron Rodgers says Jets teammates need to be more poised on the sideline
Rodgers got into specifics about what he saw and said that the offense needs to "grow up a little bit," and to not point fingers at one another.
"...too many little side conversations, and we just need to grow up a little bit on offense and lock in and do our jobs and not point fingers at each other -- and that's everybody," said Rodgers. "Don't point fingers at the coaching staff, don't point fingers at each other. Just get back to work and get the job done.
New York's defense held the team in the game, holding the Patriots to just 15 points. But on their final two drives after giving up a safety, Wilson could not lead the offense to the end zone -- turning the ball over on downs after a two-yard pass to tight end Tyler Conklin, and failing on a deep pass on the final play of the game.
The Jets offense picked up just 171 yards of total offense on 61 plays (2.8 yards per play). Wilson completed 18-of-36 pass attempts for just 157 yards. Overall, not a productive day.
Even with the latest performance, head coach Robert Saleh said they are still sticking with Wilson as the starting quarterback. But on Tuesday, the team brought in some help, signing former quarterback Trevor Siemian to their practice squad.
There is still plenty of time left this season, but it looks like the Jets are headed in the wrong direction, and their pessimistic fanbase (and understandably so) is not finding any positives. With the sideline spats, Rodgers is telling his teammates to "R-E-L-A-X."
