In the third quarter, there was a flash.
The New York Jets saw a flash of why they paid handsomely to trade for Aaron Rodgers, a flash of why their hopes were so high last season before he tore his Achilles and a flash of why the mere insertion of Rodgers in place of predecessor Zach Wilson this year was a drastic enough change to ignite a spark.
Rodgers dropped back and disregarded the pocket collapsing around him. He treated running back Breece Hall like the receiver he was imitating, Hall nabbing a contested end-zone grab for a 26-yard touchdown.
The Jets took their first lead of the game with 12:13 remaining in the third quarter.
But the game control was precarious.
The Jets ultimately outlasted the Tennessee Titans, 24-17, to improve to .500 entering a Thursday night in a divisional contest with the New England Patriots.
They did so in spite of a sputtering passing game and particularly in spite of a sputtering downfield passing game.
Rodgers completed just three passes of more than nine air yards on an 18-of-30 day in which he threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns. But a strong outing from the Jets’ running back duo, paired with a boom-and-bust day from Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis, gave the Jets the edge.
Hall, who already played well last season in his return from an ACL tear, anchored the Jets with 114 yards from scrimmage and the airborne touchdown catch.
The Jets also showed unexpected trust in fourth-round rookie running back Braelon Allen, who scored first on a 12-yard touchdown after Rodgers dumped it to him behind the line of scrimmage. Allen later scored the go-ahead, 20-yard touchdown bursting through defenders on the ground.
Tennessee blew a lead for the second straight week, Levis also ceding a costly turnover for the second-straight game. After throwing a pick 6 to the Chicago Bears in the opener, Levis fumbled when trying to save a sack and threw an interception on his next snap when Jets cornerback Brandin Echols wrestled a deep pass out of Titans receiver Treylon Burks’ hands.
Tennessee’s brightest moment of the game came when Calvin Ridley nabbed a 40-yard bomb from Levis in between Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner and safety Chuck Clark.
Tennessee ultimately had a chance to rally until the final 17 seconds of the game, but an out-of-bounds pass, sack, and dropped pass by Tyler Boyd completed Tennessee’s final drive.
The Jets defense looked better than it had against the 49ers in Week 1, but also lost linebacker C.J. Mosley and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson to injuries. Johnson was ruled out quickly with an Achilles injury.
Levis completed 19-of-28 passes for 129 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He rushed four times for 38 yards and fumbled once.
Titans running back Tony Pollard added 40 receiving yards to 62 rushing yards, while Ridley caught four of six targets for 77 yards and the touchdown.
