Aaron Rodgers found a way to make a bad interception worse Sunday afternoon.
The New York Jets quarterback, after throwing a choice in the third quarter of their 40-14 defeat against the Buffalo Bills, tried to make a tackle to limit the damage. But instead, Rodgers pushed Bills cornerback Christian Benfort well after he went out of bounds. This led to a late hit penalty and moved the Bills even further down the field.
Rodgers didn’t really need to push Benfort at that point either. Either way, he was going out of bounds. Instead, the rare late interception-hit combo moved the Bills another 15 yards and into Jets territory to begin their drive.
The Bills then scored five plays later, when Josh Allen hit Amari Cooper for a 30-yard wild grab, to increase their lead to 19-0.
This catch pushed Amari Cooper to cross the 10,000 yard mark in his career. It was also Allen’s 40th touchdown of the season, a mark he has achieved for five consecutive years. The Bills hold a 13-3 record after Sunday’s win. They’ve already clinched the AFC East and are looking to secure the second-best playoff seed behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the conference.
Rodgers has struggled with the Jets all season, essentially his first with the franchise after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury after just four games last season. The team holds a 4-12 record and has already been eliminated from the playoffs. They also don’t have a head coach or general manager, after Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh were fired last month.
Rodgers entered Sunday’s game at Highmark Stadium with 3,511 yards and 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions. His choice at Benfort was his second of the day. The Jets then took Rodgers out of the game in the fourth quarter after falling behind 40-0. Rodgers finished throwing 12 of 18 for 112 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked four times.
Tyrod Taylor was with them all the way. He also led the Jets into the end zone on his first two drives. Taylor hit Garrett Wilson for a 9-yard score and made a 2-point conversion, then he hit Tyler Conklin for a 20-yard touchdown on his second drive. He finished throwing 12 of 14 for 83 yards.
Rodgers’ future with the Jets is still up in the air, and Taylor looked solid in his short run leading the team in the 26-point blowout loss. While it won’t be decided based solely on Sunday’s game, Rodgers and the Jets clearly have a lot of work to do this offseason if the organization wants to end its 14-year playoff drought.
