An exasperated Garrett Wilson suggested the 3-10 Jets might have a losing "gene" following their most recent defeat, an overtime loss to the Dolphins on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers took it one step further. He thinks the Jets are losing a battle against a force of nature that reaches beyond the bounds of humanity.
"I mean, it might be something like that," the quarterback said of Wilson's theory, . "It might be some sort of curse we've got to snap as well."
Jets fans would begrudgingly agree. New York hasn't reached the postseason since the 2010 season and hasn't broken double-digits in wins since 2015. Since then, the Jets have cycled through two permanent head coaches and an interim coach, and despite building plenty of optimism with the acquisition of Rodgers in 2023, they're once again headed toward an uncertain offseason that could end in a split with Rodgers.
The Jets still have four games left before they're forced to confront their future with Rodgers. When he spoke on the Jets' supposed curse, he sounded as if he might not end up playing a part in breaking it. Still, he offered a bit of a guide -- or at least encouragement -- for how the Jets might overcome whatever it is that has held them back for over a decade.
"Whatever the case, this team, this organization is going to figure out how to get over the hump at some point," Rodgers said. "The culture is built by the players. There's a framework set down by the organization, by the upper ups, by the staff. But in the end, it's the players that make it come to life.
"And at some point, everybody's going to have to figure out what that special sauce is to turn those games that should be wins into wins."
Rodgers' tenure with the Jets has effectively flopped, even after he welcomed his old buddy Davante Adams into the fold following a midseason trade with the Raiders. They understandably got off to a slow start and have made some progress in the last few weeks, but still haven't done well enough to produce wins.
That's what led Wilson to wonder whether the Jets' losing is about more than just the on-field action. Rodgers attempted to explain it in football terms.
"I'm not exactly sure what he was talking about there," Rodgers said of Wilson. "I don't know what the proper nomenclature is for the situation where we've lost some leads or haven't been able to take the lead late in the game, but that's the way it goes sometimes. We haven't been great in situational football.
"A lot of those games come down to the plays in the first and second, even third quarter, where if you make the play the game is not in that situation. But in those situations, we haven't been very good on offense or defense or even (special) teams."
Rodgers is right. The Jets have left plenty of opportunities on the field. They're out of time to turn it around in 2024, but that didn't preclude Rodgers from attempting to make sense of their misfortune.
"We just haven't quite figured out how to get that special sauce worked out, mixed up," he said. "It's close and a lot of great guys are in the locker room. There's some good mix of veterans and young guys, but we just haven't quite put it all together."
The Jets could -- and even should -- figure out how to put it all together eventually. How long that takes is anyone's guess. So too is whether Rodgers will be involved in it.
