Recapping Thursday Night Football Week 9
Week 9 of the NFL season got underway on Thursday Night, marking the official start of the halfway point of the season. It was a battle between the defending Offensive Rookie of the Year and a four-time league MVP as CJ Stroud led the Houston Texans to the Big Apple to take on Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
The season couldn’t be going much differently for the two franchises. The Texans came into Thursday night’s NFL week 9 kickoff at 6-2, sitting atop the AFC South. Conversely, the Jets came into Thursday night at 2-6, struggling to find their footing.
Rodgers Struggles Early
There’s been plenty of discussion about the Jets’ overall issues for years. Before the start of the 2023 season, the team acquired Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers and believed that they had finally found a franchise QB.
After getting injured on the fourth play of the 2023 season, Rodgers missed the rest of the year. Unfortunately for Rodgers and Jets fans, the 2024 season has not met expectations.
Rodgers came into this game with only seven touchdown passes on the year, his fewest through eight games since 2010. Even more concerning are the 12 interceptions that he’s thrown, as Rodgers has always been heralded for his ability to protect the ball.
Fans grew optimistic before week 8 when the team traded for Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target during each of his four MVP seasons. Even with a familiar face in the receivers’ room, Rodgers and the Jets offense have continued to struggle.
Those struggles continued in the first quarter of Thursday night’s contest. Rodgers failed to complete his first 4 pass attempts, which included two failed attempts to connect with Adams. As Rodgers and the Jets’ offense turned things over to the punt team at the end of their second drive, the notoriously tough crowd in New York booed their franchise QB.
Fortunately for the Jets, their defense carried the load in the first quarter, largely stifling CJ Stroud. They sacked Houston’s young signal-caller three times in the first quarter, and forced a fumble when Houston was deep in New York territory.
The Boo Birds Come Out Again in the Second Quarter
With the ball deep in Houston territory, the New York Jets had a full head of steam to start the second quarter. Rodgers had connected with Adams and Garrett Wilson, and Breece Hall had tagged on a couple great rushes of his own.
Unfortunately for the Jets, rookie Malachi Corley, who had struggled to find playing time this season, made a mental mistake.
After catching a pass behind the line of scrimmage, Corley had nothing but green in front of him as he scampered toward the end zone.
In a move that accurately summarizes the Jets season up to this point, an overconfident Corley dropped the ball just shy of the goal line to break into his touchdown celebration early. The ball rolled out the back of the end zone, which resulted in the Texans getting the ball at their own 25.
Houston Gets on the Board First
After another failed Jets’ drive that culminated in an incredibly 75-yard punt from Thomas Morstead, Houston got the ball on their own two-yard line.
The game had been anything but fast-paced up to that point, with Al Michaels declaring at one point that the game was “being played in quicksand,” Houston put together a remarkable 98-yard drive that culminated in a Joe Mixon touchdown run.
Houston, We Have a Problem
Near the end of the second quarter, following yet another Jets punt (a theme that prevailed early in the game), Houston fans held their breath as CJ Stroud hit the turf and didn’t bounce back up. After lying there for a few moments, Stroud was eventually escorted off the field by the team’s medical staff.
Houston fans didn’t have to hold their breath long, as the Jets quickly went three and out, resulting in yet another punt. Stroud led the offense back onto the field long enough to take a knee and send both teams to the locker rooms for the half, with Houston up 7-0.
If you were curious, Thomas Morstead ended the first half with five punts totaling 274 yards. Houston’s punter, Tommy Townsend, was plenty busy in his own right. He punted three times, and it would’ve been four had it not been for a roughing the kicker call against the Jets that gave Houston a fresh set of downs.
The Jets Take Off to Start the Second Half
As the Amazon Prime broadcast went back to the action, Kirk Herbstreit promised the viewers and Al Michaels that the second half would be better. Al, seemingly unsure after the plodding pace of the first half, replied, “Promise?”.
The Jets got the ball first to start the second half and for the first time since Malachi Corley dropped the ball short of the goal line, Gang Green moved the ball. Rodgers appeared to be a bit more in sync, the running game came together, and the Jets put together a 65-yard drive that culminated in a beautiful Garrett Wilson one-handed catch that saw him scamper into the end zone for six.
The extra point tied it up at 7-7, and for the first time since the second quarter of the team’s week-eight loss to the Steelers, New York was on the board.
After holding Houston to a field goal on their first possession of the second half, the Jets picked up right where they left off.
Davante Adams was knocked out of the game to be evaluated for a concussion, which meant Garrett Wilson would return to his position as Rodgers’ top target. On third and long from inside the Texans 25, Aaron Rodgers threw a pass into the left corner of the end zone that Wilson went airborne for.
What resulted was what is likely to be the catch of the year. Garrett Wilson made a one-handed catch reminiscent of the one that Odell Beckham Jr. made on the same field in 2015.
An Unfortunate Turn of Events for Houston
A little more than halfway through the fourth quarter, the Texans had once again marched deep into Jets’ territory. New York’s defense stood firm, holding Houston to another field goal. Fairbairn made the field goal, but a late flag gave Houston new life. A personal foul penalty gave Houston a fresh set of downs.
The Jets’ defense ran back onto the field and once again held the Texans to a field goal, but this one from much closer range than the one Fairbairn had just made. In what can only be called a cruel twist of fate, Fairbairn nailed the upright, leaving Houston with no points on the drive.
This gave the ball back to the Jets with around five minutes to go in the game. Davante Adams emerged from the locker room after clearing concussion protocol, and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.
With a play that looked like it came straight from their heyday in Green Bay, Rodgers found Adams streaking down the sideline for another score, putting the Jets ahead 21-10. It was the first time Rodgers had thrown a TD pass to Adams since 2021.
A Look at the Numbers
Ultimately, the Jets won by a score of 21-13. When the spreads came out and the Jets were a 2.5-point favorite, some analysts raised their eyebrows. Even with homefield advantage, many media pundits expected the 6-2 Texans to come out on top. Instead, they fall to 6-3 as the Jets climb to 3-6, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
The Aaron Rodgers that we saw in the second half was a far cry from the one we saw in the first half. Rodgers finished the game having completed 22 of his 32 pass attempts, throwing for 211 yards along with three touchdowns. Perhaps most importantly for Rodgers and the Jets, he didn’t turn the ball over.
The box score wasn’t so kind to CJ Stroud. He was sacked seven times, which is certainly worrisome enough. When the final whistle blew, Stroud had only completed 11 of his 30 passing attempts for 191 yards. While Stroud didn’t throw any interceptions, he also didn’t pass for any touchdowns.
A Look Ahead
Thursday Night Football will see a divisional rivalry next week, as Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals head to Baltimore to face off with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
The Bengals are coming off a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles as the Ravens look to get back on track after dropping a game to the Cleveland Browns.