Watch: Aaron Rodgers Leaves Fans Stunned After Pushing Coach Who Wanted a Hug - 'He's Not a Big Hugger'
It should have been the most uncontroversial game of any future hall-of-famer’s career. But, leave it to Aaron Rodgers to ignite online debate — all over an aborted hug.
For those of you who missed “Thursday Night Football” for some extra sleep, unless you’re a big fan of Gang Green, you made the right move: the New York Jets beat the New England Patriots 24-3 at home in a game that didn’t even seem that close.
The game marked Rodgers’ first start at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey since tearing his Achilles tendon during the first drive of last year’s season opener. If there was any trepidation there, it didn’t show.
“The 40-year-old quarterback showed no signs of the injury — or playing in his third game in 11 days — while scrambling several times and making off-balance throws all night, slicing through New England’s defense with surgical precision,” ESPN noted.
Rodgers ended up 27 for 35 for 281 yards and two touchdown passes in the performance. Meanwhile, neither Patriots quarterbacks — journeyman starter Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye, who the Pats took No. 3 in this year’s NFL Draft — were particularly effective. Brissett was sacked five times and Maye only completed four of eight passes for 22 yards; the two QBs combined for 120 yards, well less than half of Rodgers’ total.
“It felt great,” Rodgers said after the game. “I was feeling real good out there. I felt good in pregame. I told you guys after Week 1 that it’s going to be a process and I’ll continue to extend plays once I feel more comfortable. This was kind of a first step in playing like I know I’m capable of playing.
“I felt like I was, you know, myself.”
Well, he was. And, as those of you who are familiar with Aaron Rodgers, being himself always involves bringing along some controversy, deserved or not. In this case, it involved a clip of a hug gone wrong with Jets head coach Robert Saleh:
who reads lips pic.twitter.com/HDoxWuntY6
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 20, 2024
Was it a rift between the player and coach, one user wondered?
“Don’t call that”
— Immortal (@thebringerx) September 20, 2024
Or, another joked, perhaps a throwback to the days of social distancing?
“Easy, guy, I’m not vaccinated!”
— The Beard (@EerBeard) September 20, 2024
According to Saleh and Rodgers, it was more that Rodgers was trying to keep everyone’s head in the game — and that both seemed perfectly happy about it.
“Part of the things we’ve been talking about is to just give the defense a two-score lead,” Saleh said, noting how it came after a Breece Hall touchdown run gave the Jets a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. “And it was a two-score lead.”
“I guess he just wanted to see something on defense,” a laughing Saleh said. “He just reminded me that, you know, it was a two-score lead.”
Rodgers, similarly amused, backed this up, noting that the enthusiasm caught him off-guard.
“He’s not a big hugger, usually” Rodgers said with a smile. “I didn’t know he was going for a hug. He likes to do the two-hand chest-push, as well.”
“So I kind of gave him a push and said, ‘Two-score lead.'”
However, New York has plenty to celebrate before going into Week 4 — and, with some extra rest, they’ll be playing the so-far disappointing Denver Broncos, who are 0-2. That, however, leads into a rough stretch where they play the surprising 2-0 Minnesota Vikings, the 2-0 Buffalo Bills and the 2-0 Pittsburgh Steelers before going to New England to play the Patriots on their home turf.
If they arrive in Foxborough having managed to win the lion’s share of those games, one imagines Rodgers won’t be averse to a hug from Saleh, two scores up or not.
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