After tearing his Achilles four snaps into the 2023 campaign, Rodgers entered this season as a question mark. Personally, I was skeptical of a 40-year-old fresh off a major injury being able to regularly produce at a high level. Turns out my concerns were valid, at least in the early goings. Rodgers has enjoyed one great outing … and three underwhelming efforts. Outside of the Week 3 performance that saw a vintage Rodgers complete 77.1 percent of his pass attempts for 281 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a romp over New England, the four-time MVP has completed fewer than 62 percent of his passes in each of the other three games, with his worst output coming this past Sunday in a bad 10-9 loss to the Broncos at MetLife Stadium. 

The offense — which ranks 22nd in total yards, 21st in scoring and 18th in passing — is a highly disjointed operation. Several aspects have led to New York’s poor play on that side of the ball. Rodgers attributed the latest loss to “too many mental mistakes, too many poor throws, and then we just missed some easy stuff, some protection stuff that should’ve been easy, some route-adjustment stuff that should’ve been easy.” This is all true, and these issues have jumped off the screen for most of the season. That’s why it’s been a struggle for this offense to find an identity early. The run game is all over the place, with Breece Hall and Braelon Allen running through opponents in style … or completely disappearing (Hall had 10 carries for 4 yards against Denver). 

Rodgers wants things run a certain way — that much is clear — and his difference of opinion from head coach Robert Saleh appears to be an emerging issue. The veteran quarterback has to figure out a way to help get everyone on the same page schematically. Rodgers’ rocky start and undisciplined aspects of this offense are what’s holding this 2-2 team back. The Jets are going to go as far as Rodgers takes them, and right now, they’re kind of stuck in the mud.