New York’s most important bridge
Jets and Aaron Rodgers are fighting for a miracle
By Florian Papenfuhs
November 19, 2023, 2:32 p.m
Aaron Rodgers is supposed to finally lead the New York Jets to the Super Bowl, but he is injured in the first game against the Buffalo Bills. Today both teams meet again. With a win, the Jets should still have hope – for the playoffs and a medical miracle.
New York has countless bridges. The most iconic? Above all, the Brooklyn Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Manhattan. A circus organizer once let 21 elephants run across the structure to show their resilience. Then there is the Manhattan Bridge, which also runs between Brooklyn and – you guessed it – Manhattan. The Verrazzano Narrows Bridge leads over to Staten Island and, at over 2,000 meters long, is still the longest suspension bridge on the American continent. Aaron Rodgers’ Speedbridge, on the other hand, is tiny.
They probably only know fans of the New York Jets. What fans of the New York Jets know very well: waiting. 54 years. That’s how long the Jets have been waiting for the second Super Bowl victory in franchise history. In the summer of 2023 they will finally have hope again thanks to a blockbuster trade.
Aaron Rodgers, who spent four days in complete darkness after the last NFL season contemplating the continuation of his career, will be the light at the end of the tunnel for the Jets. “He’s one of the best players – one of the greatest players – I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Jets legend Joe Namath, who led the franchise to its first Super Bowl triumph in 1969, in an interview with “ESPN” .
Legend offers jersey number
Nobody should want to contradict Namath. Of his over five thousand passes, 475 resulted in touchdowns (only four quarterbacks in NFL history have scored more). He was elected to the NFL All-Star team ten times, and consequently also to the All-Star team of the 10s. He received the honor as the best player of the season four times (only Peyton Manning has one more award). Along with Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers is probably the most influential quarterback of his generation.
After several years of insignificance (the Jets were last in the playoffs in 2010), the arrival of Aaron Rodgers in New York is causing unprecedented euphoria. Namath also emphasizes: “He can pull this team up.”
Aaron Rodgers became a legend with the Green Bay Packers, with whom he won the Super Bowl in 2010. From 2005 to 2022 he wore the green and yellow jersey with the number 12. Joe Namath once also wore the number 12 for the Jets. Since then, the club has no longer given out the shirt number, as is usual with major icons in US sports. But for Rodgers, Namath explained before the move, he would give them up. Rodgers, ever the gentleman, leaves the 12 untouched. He chooses the number 8, which he wore in college.
“It does not look good”
The Jets’ “we’re who again” feeling imploded when Rodgers had to retreat ten yards after his first snap against the Buffalo Bills, was knocked off his feet and left the field limping. Despite the shock, the Jets win the opening game with replacement quarterback Zach Wilson. “It doesn’t look good,” said coach Robert Saleh after the game. He is right. Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon and the season was over.
In the following weeks, the absence of the star quarterback due to injury brought about all sorts of blossoms. A number of trade and comeback rumors arise given the gaping hole behind the Jets’ O-line. In the meantime, even Colin Kaepernick is offering himself as a new addition. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was the first player not to stand for the US anthem in protest against police violence and racism.
He becomes the face of the fight against structural racism worldwide, and Amnesty International, among others, honors him. However, he no longer plays football after 2016. Not even with the Jets. In the background, Rodgers is restructuring his contract, waiving money so that the Jets can bring in better players.
How the Jets are playing for the Rodgers comeback
This Sunday the Jets will face the Buffalo Bills again, this time with Zach Wilson as the starting quarterback. Still. After the shock in the opening game, Rodgers spoke of his “broken heart” on Instagram, but also emphasized: “The night is darkest before the dawn. And I will rise again.”
The alarm clock could ring as early as mid-December, NBC reported on Monday. Aaron Rodgers himself is said to have told reporter Melissa Stark his goal. Already on October 15th. The medical miracle was hinted at when Rodgers easily threw a few balls before the Jets’ game against the Eagles, without crutches, supportive shoes or other aids. However, the Jets themselves could still stand in the way of a “resurrection.”
The return in record time is made possible by the Speedbridge technology, which, like such an early comeback itself, is not without risk. A type of plastic bridge carries the load past the torn part of the tendon. However, the technology is still relatively new and there is hardly any empirical data.
Two, one, risk
In order for this risk to be worth it, the Jets should still have a playoff chance by the time Rodgers returns. At least: The Jets don’t completely fall apart after the worst case scenario in the first game. The bitter triumph was followed by three defeats, then three victories, and finally two bankruptcies. A record of four wins and five defeats and participation in the play-offs doesn’t make it impossible, but it does make it extremely complicated. Because only fourteen teams play there, seven each from the two conferences: the AFC and the NFC. The Houston Texans are in the last of the coveted playoff spots in the AFC (five wins, four defeats). The Jets are currently in 13th place – but only one win away from Houston.
For the second time this season, the Jets depend heavily on a game against the Bills. The team around quarterback Josh Allen is surprisingly in poor form this NFL season. After the latest and fifth defeat, the Bills fired their offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and are currently ranked 11th in the AFC.
If New York wins in Buffalo, Aaron Rodgers, along with his fans and franchise, can continue to hope. Because a medical miracle could be followed by a sporting one. And if Aaron Rodgers actually leads the Jets to the Super Bowl, they might name a real bridge after him in New York.