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Two-time Super Bowl champion Damien Woody has delivered a harsh verdict: the Aaron Rodgers era with the New York Jets, he says, is officially over. After the Jets fell to the Patriots 25-22, Woody held nothing back in his postgame assessment.
Speaking on ESPN’s Get Up, Woody, who knows the Jets firsthand from his own days on the field, didn’t hesitate to call out Rodgers’ performance, declaring that the Jets look worse than they did last season, even with Zach Wilson at the helm.
“This team is worse this year than with Zach Wilson playing quarterback last year,” Woody said bluntly. He took aim not just at Rodgers but at the entire team setup. The Jets, Woody argued, aren’t only struggling on offense but look poorly coached, can’t execute when it counts, and, ultimately, have lost the spark Rodgers was supposed to bring. According to Woody, Rodgers now seems like a “shell of himself.”
The numbers back up some of Woody’s concerns. In his game against the Patriots, Rodgers went 17-for-28, racking up 233 yards and two touchdowns, but his season stats hint at a dip from the elite performance fans once expected. With 1,896 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions so far, Rodgers doesn’t quite look like the player who collected four MVP titles in his prime.
Rodgers himself didn’t hide his frustration after the loss. He summed up his reaction to the game with one word: “Frustration.” In a brief comment on the Jets’ website, Rodgers explained that while winning in the NFL is always challenging, this game felt like one they couldn’t afford to lose. His statement spoke volumes about the team’s season so far, filled with struggles and missed chances on offense.
Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich echoed the disappointment, saying he and the team were “pissed off” after Sunday’s loss. Ulbrich emphasized the emotional toll, noting that everyone—from the coaches to the players—felt the sting of repeated failures in crucial moments. “We had opportunities to win this game,” Ulbrich admitted, saying the Patriots simply capitalized on the Jets’ inability to execute when it mattered most.
Now, as the Jets prepare to face the Houston Texans on Thursday night, they’re heading into a game that might be make-or-break for their season. Whether Rodgers and the team can turn things around remains to be seen, but for Woody, it’s clear that any hope of a Rodgers-led resurgence is slipping away fast.