The New York Jets have now fired their head coach and general manager, and their loss to the Denver Broncos seemed to be a huge turning point for them. The Jets came into the game with a solid 2-1 record, and the Broncos were 1-2.
This Week 4 contest still stands out today as being the ugliest game of the 2024 NFL Season thus far. Bo Nix didn't even hit 100 passing yards, but he threw one touchdown pass, and that proved to be the difference maker. The Jets had the ball and no timeouts left. Kicker Greg Zuerlein lined up for what likely would have been a game-winning field goal from 50 yards, and this happened:
Jets missing a game winning 50-yard FG attempt and the #Broncos come away with the victory!!pic.twitter.com/CWict4kymP
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) September 29, 2024
This dropped the Jets to 2-2 on the year, and this was the second of three wins in a row for the Broncos. Well, the Jets fired GM Joe Douglas on Tuesday, which obviously now signals that this team is blowing things up and will restart in 2025. That likely means QB Aaron Rodgers is getting kicked out of town, and there has been a ton of fallout since the firing.
Check out this reporting for Dianna Russini of The Athletic about what Jets owner Woody Johnson suggested after the loss to Denver:
After losing to Denver, Woody Johnson suggested in a contentious meeting that they bench Rodgers because he felt the QB wasn’t playing well.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) November 20, 2024
The coaches pushed back and asked each other if he was serious.
More from @ZackBlatt and mehttps://t.co/YTnhOjz1bu pic.twitter.com/xnIjHzTptg
Jets loss to the Broncos shook up the franchise
The Jets did beat the Denver Broncos in the 2023 NFL Season with Sean Payton and Russell Wilson running the show. And as we all know, this mini-rivalry came about when Payton's infamous comments in that USA Today interview surfaced. He kind of abused the Jets organization verbally, and the team's win over the Broncos in 2023 surely felt good.
Well, the Broncos and Jets Week 4 game was Sean Payton trotting out "his guy" in rookie QB Bo Nix, so Payton was and still is banking on Bo Nix developing, which he has done. Coming into the 2024 NFL Season, many people across the NFL landscape, and surely the Jets themselves thought they would make the playoffs.
The Jets have won just one game since losing to the Broncos in Week 4, and their season has totally spiraled out of control. The Denver Broncos have clearly gotten the last laugh here, and the fact that their owner suggested they bench Aaron Rodgers is a major, major story.
That makes is less likely that Rodgers returns to the Jets in 2025, and you also have to consider if this is the last of Aaron Rodgers that the NFL world sees...