Aaron Rodgers has defended Nathaniel Hackett’s offense, saying he is still “a believer” despite the New York Jets’ struggles with Zach Wilson at quarterback.
The Jets have gone 11 consecutive quarters without scoring a touchdown across 36 possessions on offense under Wilson, filling in for Rodgers, who arrived in a trade from the Green Bay Packers prior to the season but suffered a torn Achilles on the first drive of Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills.
Wilson completed just 23 of 39 passes while throwing an interception as the Jets were defeated 16-12 by the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, their second straight loss and one that leaves them at 4-5, two games behind the first-placed Miami Dolphins in the AFC East.
Adam Saleh threw his support behind both Wilson and offensive coordinator Hackett following the Raiders loss, and Rodgers has now echoed his head coach’s sentiments.
“I won MVP twice in the same offense, so I’m a believer,” Rodgers told the Pat McAfee Show. “I’m a believer in the offense.
“There are a lot of positions, you have to play better. But yeah, it’s easy right now to throw it at the usual suspects, Zach and Nathaniel, but there’s a lot of positions that need to play better.
“There’s a lot of geniuses out there with ideas about how to fix the whole thing, but in actuality, it’s very simple.
“If you watch the film, you can see where the issues lie and there are plays to be made. There are opportunities that are out there and we’re just not getting it done.”
Brothers.@AaronRodgers12 | @tae15adams pic.twitter.com/7miYSQUo9p
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 13, 2023
Rodgers and Hackett have joined forces at the Jets after enjoying huge success together with the Packers, with Rodgers winning his third and fourth MVPs with Hackett as his offensive coordinator in 2020 and then 2021.
Rodgers pointed to the red zone offense as a particular area of focus that needs to improve if the Jets are to sneak into the playoffs, saying: “It’s tough because we’re nine games in.
“I think a lot of the issues that we’re having are ones that we’ve had for a lot of the season. We’re not being efficient in the red zone, not being opportunistic on third down. We’re very low in both those categories.”
Rodgers was initially expected to miss the entire 2023 season, but having been seen on the field throwing prior to a couple of Jets games in recent weeks, there are reports the 39-year-old could be back in mid-December.
Rodgers did not rule that out, explaining: “There’s no set date. I mean, it could change.
“If I have a great week this week and next week, that could be accelerated. If we’re not in [contention] in three or four weeks, that could take it a different way. But I expect us to be in it and I expect to come back.”
