“It feels better” to be 0-1 this year than 1-0 in 2023

Rodgers played 37 snaps in the Jets’ opening loss in the 2024 season opener on Monday night.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh admitted Tuesday that it feels better to be 0-1 this year than 1-0 last season.

“You know what that means, unfortunately, because I know we have to get the defense in order,” Saleh said, according to team minutes, a day after the 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener.

Aside from Saleh’s confidence that his defense will recover from the eight scoring drives it allowed against the 49ers, the optimism is also tied to Rodgers’ health.

After a sunny offseason when Rodgers arrived, clouds quickly enveloped Gotham this time a year ago after the four-time AP NFL Most Valuable Player tore his Achilles tendon after just a quarter of play. The Jets eked out an overtime win over the Buffalo Bills thanks to an electrifying, game-tying punt return from Xavier Gipson, but the forecast was still grim.

Despite being replaced by Tyrod Taylor on Monday and technically not having finished a Jets game on the field, Rodgers came through Monday unscathed. Rodgers had no excuses after the loss and vowed to play better as the season progresses.

At times, Rodgers was at his best on Monday night, but by the end of the night he had completed 13 of 21 passes for 167 yards, a touchdown to Allen Lazard and an interception. The loss was also Saleh’s first real game experience with Rodgers after such a brief debut the previous season. The head coach liked what he saw and appreciated how Rodgers handled the adversity.

“You know, he’s not panicking,” Saleh said. “He was a calm force on the sideline and I think last night he found a lot of finishing as far as finishing a game and getting out of it, and I think I speak for everybody, especially on offense, there’s a lot of confidence there.”

Not surprisingly, Saleh is confident that his 40-year-old future Hall of Famer will lead a successful offense.

“Our offense is going to be really good this year,” Saleh said.

The defense will do the same, he assured.

“The season has 17 games, we still have 16 of them, and getting the defense in order will not be a problem,” said Saleh.

It has been the Jets’ motto since Saleh arrived in 2021. Although New York was No. 3 in yards allowed last season, it was only 7-10 with the 31^st-ranking offense.

That’s mainly why a 0-1 draw with a healthy Rodgers on Tuesday feels better than a 1-0 draw without Rodgers a year ago.