The hype around the New York Jets has been pretty intense, while Aaron Rodgers basked in all of the attention. After flaking out the past several years in Green Bay, Rodgers was trying to convey he impression that he was serious again about football. The question of his attitude and commitment was one of the biggest question marks around the 2023 season, along with the obvious issues around his age. We had just seen Tom Brady pull this off, but many of us were skeptical that Rodgers could come close to matching Brady’s maniacal work ethic.

The scene was set for the September 11th debut of Rodgers and the Jets last night on Monday Night Football. Rodgers ran into the stadium carrying the American flag in front of a delirious crowd.

Then, after a handful of plays, all the noise and enthusiasm was sucked out of the stadium. Rodgers was sacked and his ankle appeared to be twisted. He went down after trying to stand up and then left the game for good. Everyone is speculating on the severity of the injury, but it doesn’t look good at the moment.

For the Jets, a season-ending injury destroys their title hopes. The defense in New York is excellent, and they had put some great weapons around Rodgers. As you might expect, social media was filled with angry reactions from Jets fans.

Shockingly, the Jets managed to win the game in wild fashion due to their defense and some big plays. Josh Allen was terrible for the Bills, raising questions about whether he’s regressing. He had an embarrassing fumble and was intercepted three times by safety Jordan Whitehead. Garrett Wilson made a ridiculous catch in the end zone on the throw from Zach Wilson that should have been picked off. And Breece Hall was spectacular with 10 carries for 127 yards.

Other AFC contenders had to be happy with this result. The Jets are screwed if Rodgers is out for an extended period of time, yet they managed to drop a loss on the Bills.

It was quite a weekend for college football, as many of us who love the game saw the crowds return and bring back the magic of the game. Yes, we still have issues with this top-heavy sport with Alabama and a few other dominant teams, but the traditions, crowds and games themselves make this an irresistible sport. No, NIL won’t ruin it. It will just continue to evolve, and likely in a better way.

As for the games this weekend, Ohio State and Minnesota kicked things off on Thursday night, as the Gophers came out to play and made things interesting for the first half. The Gophers have a monster offensive like in front of star running back Mo Ibrahim, and the Buckeyes have a young defense that clearly needs some more time to gel.

Meanwhile, C.J. Stroud was making his first start at quarterback and struggled in the first half. He had trouble throwing accurately on the run and couldn’t consistently get the ball to Ohio State’s talented receivers. That changed in the second half as Ryan Day schemed the receivers open and Stroud hit them in stride. The Buckeyes showed how Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and the rest of the Buckeye receivers will torch opponents all season. And they have running backs as well, as Miyan Williams and true freshman TreVeyon Henderson both scored on long touchdowns.

Read the rest of this entry »