With injuries all too frequent, the landscape of the NFL can change in a second, and no one knows that more than Aaron Rodgers. After a lot of built-up hype following the trade that sent Rodgers to the New York Jets, the hype train came to an abrupt end in their Week 1 matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
In their first drive of the game, Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd sacked Rodgers. After awkwardly landing on his leg, it would later be confirmed that Rodgers had torn his Achilles, changing the course of the Jets' season. After their own fans counted them out, they came back to beat the Bills in overtime. They are now a respectable 3-3 on the season so far, taking care of the Denver Broncos and upsetting the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rodgers joined The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday to comment on these overreactions that fans tend to have rather quickly.
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“Nobody was saying that (expletive) a few weeks ago,” Rodgers said on the Jets' ability to stay competitive without him, calling fans out for counting them out too soon.
To continue his argument about how often fans tend to "overreact," Rodgers shifted his focus to Mac Jones and the New England Patriots.
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After a 1-5 start to the season, many were quick to end their trust in Jones, claiming he couldn't be the guy to move the Patriots forward. Through all of the negative attention, Jones delivered in Week 7 against the Buffalo Bills, leading the Patriots to a 29-25 upset win topped off by a game-winning two-minute drive.
“The narrative can change so quickly in this league,” Rodgers said. “Look at what’s going on in New England. ‘Bill (Belichick) is going to be out’ and 'Mac is the problem’ and then Mac goes out and balls out. I think he was 25 of 31, played incredible, led them on a last-second drive, and now it’s like, ‘Mac was never the problem!’ You have to be able to laugh at some of this (expletive) because it’s so ridiculous. The overreactions and the blanket statements are crazy.”
A growing narrative throughout sports as a whole is how quickly fans and media pundits label players as "busts" or "overrated," or letting one player's injury be enough to call a season over without giving the rest of the team credit. Rodgers has heard enough.
With Jones and the Patriots feeling rejuvenated after their thrilling win over Buffalo, they will look to continue their winning ways in their Week 8 matchup against the Miami Dolphins.