Sean Gallagher

There’s nothing worse than having a major letdown the first week of the NFL season. But what happened to the New York Jets on Monday night, a 22-16 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills provided a moment of euphoria for the more than 80,000 at Metlife Stadium, but once that moment passed, fans were reminded of what happened on the first offensive drive of the game: the season-ending injury for new quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

It’s so easy to laugh at the New York Jets, who are quick to point to the grainy footage of Joe Namath winning Super Bowl III over the Baltimore Colts, while other moments like the Mark Sanchez butt fumble tend to stick better in the minds of football fans. Add Rodgers going down after four plays to the series of unfortunate events that have befallen that franchise.

The Jets had everything going their way entering Monday’s opener. From the coverage of his trade from Green Bay to New York, to them being featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks”. On top of that, Rodgers as a person is a lightning rod for intrigue (and controversy), which also makes for great television. A lot of people didn’t know what ayahuasca was until he started talking about it. Not to mention the only media person he’ll speak to is Pat McAfee.

But all of that was derailed before the Jets first offensive series came to an end. The minute he got up, then immediately went down to the turf, accompanied by several different angles of his injury on instant replay was the needle that delated the balloon of optimism fans had at kickoff.

Rich Eisen summed up the entire situation perfectly, showing what kind of PTSD Jets fans go through…

It’s a shame that Jordan Whitehead’s three interceptions of Josh Allen, Garrett Wilson’s clutch catch to tie the game in the 4th quarter, and the game-winning punt return in overtime from rookie Xavier Gipson will be quickly forgotten as the focus turns to who will be the Jets quarterback for the remaining 16 games.

While Zac Wilson may not be the answer, at least he’s an option. The Jets defense kept them in the game after falling behind 13-3, and offensive weapons like Garrett, as well as Dalvin Cook and Breece Hall in the backfield give them a fighting chance without Rodgers, but the feeling appears to be that it won’t be enough, and it’s hard to counter that feeling of dread when you remember it’s the New York Jets.