Aaron Rodgers nonetheless has it.
The 40-year-old turned again the clock on Thursday evening, carving up the New England Patriots’ protection to steer the New York Jets to a 24-3 victory. Rodgers accomplished 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns.
Rodgers’ stat line didn’t inform the entire story, although.
New England had bother attending to Rodgers all evening, pressuring him typically, solely to see the 20-year NFL veteran use his legs to scramble out of hazard and hit an open man on the run. Passes have been crisp. Spreading the wealth seemed straightforward. It felt like we have been watching the Rodgers of outdated.
There’s lots of soccer left to be performed, but when Rodgers can replicate Thursday’s efficiency on a biweekly foundation—at the least—he’s going to place collectively one hell of a season.
And it needs to be his final if that’s the case.
Prefer it or not, Rodgers actually has nothing left to show. He’s a four-time MVP. He’s acquired a Tremendous Bowl ring on his finger. He’s cemented himself as one of many biggest quarterbacks of all time.
Rodgers had his 2023 marketing campaign lower remarkably brief when he tore his left Achilles after taking simply 4 snaps in New York’s season opener towards the Buffalo Payments. Now right here he’s, on the age of 40, trying spry as ever.
Watching Rodgers put collectively a robust season and doubtlessly lead the Jets to a playoff berth—or higher but, a championship—on the heels of a season-ending Achilles damage earlier than using off into the sundown is the proper ending.
New York isn’t, and shouldn’t be, the favourite to go all the best way by any means, however we should always get to see Rodgers for at the least one playoff sport.
Suppose Rodgers has himself a season for the ages, then opts to maintain taking part in. How do you presumably go up from there? You don’t. If we’re fortunate in that state of affairs, Rodgers doesn’t present all that a lot regression in 2025 and simply sort of falls to the wayside, finally hanging up the cleats in a yr or two.
However Father Time is undefeated. And one thing tells us {that a} 41-year-old Rodgers could be a fairly favorable matchup for him. Harm might finish Rodgers’ profession as soon as and for all, or we might see a shell of a person who as soon as threw for 48 touchdowns towards simply 5 picks in a single season.
I don’t find out about you, however that’s not how I wish to bear in mind one of the vital gifted signal-callers of this era.
Granted, all of that is fairly straightforward for me to say, sitting in entrance of my laptop computer, typing, one thing I might do till I’m 85. Writing has a protracted shelf life. Loads of careers do. Soccer doesn’t. So, I reckon it’s fairly exhausting to step away from it whenever you’re nonetheless succeeding.
Nonetheless, if the prospect to exit on prime presents itself, you may as nicely take it.