Terrible First Half; Great Second Half

Former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers had perhaps the worst first half of his long NFL career on Thursday. He looked slow, he looked old, he looked washed out.

In the first 30 minutes, the 40-year-old Rodgers completed a 32-yard pass; this was the fewest passing yards in the first half of his career in any game in which he threw at least 10 passes. He had no touchdown passes and a passer rating of 56.2, which if you’re not familiar with passer rating numbers is bad, really bad.

“I was as bad as I could be in the first half,” Rodgers said after the Jets’ 21-13 victory over Houston.

He later added to this in his post-match interview: “I was terrible in the first half.”

And then he finished with these words: “I was as bad as I could have played in the first half.”

The Jets were shut out in the first half, trailing 7-0 at halftime, and there was no sign that things would be any different in the second half.

But things were different, very different.

Rodgers completed 15 of 18 passes for 179 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the second half. That means his passer rating in the second half was 147.69, and for those of you unfamiliar with passer rating numbers, that’s good, very good.

Suddenly it looked like Rodgers was a four-time MVP again.

With a spectacular touchdown reception from Garrett Wilcon — “That was ridiculous,” Rodgers said — and Rodgers’ first touchdown pass to Davante Adams since 2021, the Jets ended their five-game losing streak and improved to 3-6 .

So did chili peppers have anything to do with the Jets’ second-half rally?

On Tuesday, Rodgers said he drank the cayenne pepper and water recommended by teammate Thomas Morstead, which Rodgers said provided a “fountain of youth.”

During the post-game TV interview, as Jets fans behind Rodgers chanted “Cay-enne pepper, cay-enne pepper,” Rodgers was asked about the impact of his new chili regimen.

“I was told not to talk about it anymore,” he said.

What the bettors were talking about was the point spread for Thursday’s game. Even though the Texans were 6-2 and the Jets were 2-6 and on a five-game losing streak, the Jets were 2.5-point favorites at nearly every betting site. The Jets not only won, but also closed the gap.

Suddenly the Jets’ season doesn’t look so bad, and Rodgers’ expectations for the rest of 2024 don’t look so pessimistic. None of the next six Jets opponents have a winning record, and Rodgers has previously shown that he can lead a team into contention after a slow start. In 2022, the Packers went 4-8 and won four straight but lost their finale.

Hmmmm.

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