Things hardly went how the New York Jets had hoped in Aaron Rodgers' true debut with the team. In fact, the Jets' 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football was downright ugly.
Rodgers wasn't bad, but the rest of the team sure was. New York ended with a measly 266 yards of total offense and 21 minutes and 20 seconds of possession time. Not an ideal night in the NFL.
"But perhaps the worst part of the Jets' underwhelming performance was what cameras picked up on the sidelines," wrote Michael Gallagher of Athlon Sports. "Near the end of the first quarter, Hackett can be seen trying to explain something to Rodgers, who's turned facing the opposite direction tuning out whatever Hackett was saying."
It's a bad look for Rodgers but perhaps even worse news for Hackett. It appears the latter is on the hot seat.
Aaron Rodgers giving Nathaniel Hackett the silent treatment 💀pic.twitter.com/seyXAs58O7
— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) September 10, 2024
"Hackett is already believed to be on thin ice given how bad the 2023 season was for the Jets offensively (the team ranked 31st in total yards, 30th in passing, 23rd in rushing and 29th in scoring.)," Gallagher wrote.
"It was reported in May that New York tried to hire someone to work above Hackett and essentially run the offense for him, then in July reports leaked that the Jets tried to 'woo' former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to replace Hackett as NY's play-caller before he ultimately accepted the OC position with the Pittsburgh Steelers."
Granted, people can be over-reactionary one game into the season — as there are still 16 to go. And the Niners are a majorly tough opponent. So perhaps Rodgers, Hackett and the Jets just need more time.
But yeah, it's safe to say this wasn't a great start.
