Aaron Rodgers got benched with 12:37 remaining in the fourth quarter of what turned out to be a 40-14 New York Jets loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 17.
After the game, Rodgers was asked for the details of his conversation with interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich on the sideline about the benching.
“I mean it was 33-0. We were sitting there and I said at some point, probably go to Tyrod [Taylor] here, huh? Then the next play they [the Bills] threw a screen for a touchdown. So it was 40-0,” Rodgers explained on Sunday, December 29.
Aaron Rodgers revealed to the media that he instigated his own benching in the fourth quarter during a sideline conversation w/ #Jets interim HC Jeff Ulbrich.
‘I mean it was 33-0, we were sitting there & I said at some point probably go to Tyrod [Taylor] here, huh? Then the next… pic.twitter.com/otJGKK7kxe
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) December 29, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Jets Make Clear Stance on Rodgers For Week 18
Rodgers had his worst game of the season.
He finished 12-of-18 for 112 passing yards, didn’t score a touchdown, tossed two interceptions, and was sacked four times.
“I gotta look at the tape. Honestly like I didn’t get to see a lot of the offense. I was doing a lot of defensive adjustments, especially in that first half and a good part of that third quarter. We’ll see when I get a good look at the tape,” Ulbrich responded when asked for his assessment of Rodgers’ performance.
Despite the benching and poor play, Ulbrich told the media that he expects Rodgers to start at quarterback in the regular season finale versus the Miami Dolphins “barring injury.”
Jets Get Sneak Peek of Potential QB Future in 2025
When Rodgers went out, Taylor came in.
The veteran quarterback got two drives to close out the game and both of them went for touchdowns.
Taylor finished 11-of-14 for 83 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers. He wasn’t sacked once and posted a 131.0 QBR.
“From a protection standpoint we were struggling so Tyrod has an amazing superpower of being elusive and athletic and it was necessary today,” Ulbrich explained.
It’s fair to point out that Taylor’s production came late in a blowout loss against the Bills’ backup players with the game out of hand.
Taylor is under contract for the Jets next season. There has been a lot of speculation outside of the building that the Jets could move on from Rodgers. If they did that, Taylor would be in line to be the bridge starting quarterback for the Jets in 2025.
Taylor isn’t a spring chicken at 35 years of age, but he still has some juice left in his wheels. This past season with the New York Giants, Taylor ran for 197 rushing yards and averaged 5.2 yards per clip. Those were the most rushing yards that Taylor had in a season since 2017.
Rodgers is in a different class of quarterback compared to Taylor from a career standpoint. However, Taylor has mobility that Rodgers has never had which brings an intriguing element to the Jets offense.
Comments
Jets QB Aaron Rodgers Responds to Getting Benched in Bills Blowout