New York football is a test of the human spirit. It’s not fun. For the better part of the past decade, it’s been miserable for fans of the New York Football Giants and Jets. Both franchises have been saddled with losing seasons, sub-par play, and front-office mismanagement. The Jets have had a slightly worse time in all three departments. At least the Giants have won two Super Bowls, which most of their fanbase can remember, both against Tom Brady’s Patriots.
The Jets haven’t seen much playoff success, though under Rex Ryan ages ago, they managed two back-to-back AFC championship game appearances, with Mark Sanchez no less. Their last playoff appearance was in 2010. In 2023, they were looking to snap the streak of 12 consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance when they traded for Aaron Rodgers. The hype was sky-high, with HBO stoking the fire, featuring the Jets in the most recent season of Hard Knocks.
The Jets home opener against the Buffalo Bills was to make for great football, much better than the 40-0 blowout the Giants suffered against the hated Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. And then, less than several plays into their first offensive drive, Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles while trying to escape a sack. The Jets have a roster filled with playmakers and some dogs on defense. With Rodgers under center, it wasn’t hyperbole to consider themselves Super Bowl contenders, the real goal for the franchise this year.
By video, our panel of doctors have significant worry for a season-ending injury for #Jets QB Aaron Rodgers
— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) September 12, 2023
More info⏩https://t.co/QZtfW9auQW pic.twitter.com/2Kqhis3jhx
But football is a brutal game. It’s a long season physically for these players, and injuries can happen suddenly. It capped off a disastrous two-day stretch for both teams and somehow folks think the Jets got the worse of it despite beating the Bills in overtime. There’s been talk about the Meadowlands turf, which has ruined many careers over the past decade. But one tweet was eerily prophetic about Rodgers and his injury hours before the game. For reasons unknown, this account, @DaddyZaslav, was suspended (via NY Post) [emphasis mine]:
This tweet now has 10 million views.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 12, 2023
Aaron Rodgers tore his achilles 2 hours and 24 minutes later. pic.twitter.com/0MKU876sH3
A parody account on Elon Musk’s social network X was banned after predicting Aaron Rodgers would suffer a season-ending injury with eerie precision.
“Aaron Rodgers is going to tear his Achilles on a rain drenched MetLife turf in 2.5 hours,” user @DaddyZaslav — an account spoofing Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav — wrote at 6:01 p.m., about two hours before the 8:15 p.m. kickoff on “Monday Night Football.”
By 8:30 p.m., the 39-year-old Jets savior was carted off the field after going down with the ankle injury following a sack on the team’s fourth offensive play.
The horrifying prediction was viewed over 11 million times before it was taken down some time on Tuesday — after the team confirmed what Gang Green nation feared.
X, the site formerly known as Twitter, did not provide a reason for why the account was suspended.
BREAKING: Aaron Rodgers suffered a complete tear of his left Achilles tendon, out for the season. (via @RapSheet + @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/xRy3NUESSN
— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2023
Aaron Rodgers’ torn Achilles might be the most devastating injury to a team and fan base in NFL history. There never has been a player who received more off-season hype, who raised another team’s expectations more, who had his season end 4 plays in without ever completing a pass.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 12, 2023
An MRI confirmed today that Aaron Rodgers officially tore his Achilles on the fourth play of his Jets’ career.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 12, 2023
Rodgers’ season now, officially, is over. There already are questions about whether his Hall-of-Fame career is, too.
Aaron Rodgers on his first drive with his new team.. pic.twitter.com/BCfv6qnpA1
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 12, 2023
Breaking: An MRI confirmed today that Aaron Rodgers officially tore his Achilles on the fourth play of his Jets’ career, sources told @adamschefter.
— ESPN (@espn) September 12, 2023
Rodgers’ season is now over. pic.twitter.com/w3p7zfyBWF
Some of these new rules on Twitter, or X, are weird, but even made in jest, this is a creepy post. The Jets have a brutal schedule ahead, facing the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half of the 2023 season. Rodgers being sidelined certainly delivered a haymaker to their Super Bowl ambitions, but it’s now Zach Wilson’s show.
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