There’s no need to oversell what this means. There’s no need to hype its consequence with inflated sentences like were occasionally manufactured over the last decade with these teams.
It’s on again.
New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins.
Aaron Rodgers vs. Tua Tagovailoa
One AFC East team that’s all in for next year (and only next year) against another AFC East team that’s all in for next year (and only next year).
Between dissecting the meaning of life and discussing five days closed off from the world, “in the darkness,” Rodgers announced Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show he’ll be the Jets quarterback. You came for The Decision. You sat through a therapy session.
The move isn’t official simply because the Packers are, “dragging their heels,’’ Rodgers said. But it wasn’t a secret the four-time Most Valuable Player looked like a Jet before the interview and it’s just a matter of Green Bay signing the divorce papers now.
And so it’s on again. When is the last time these two old, old, very old rivals — Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti shouted across the line at Jets quarterback Joe Namath in 1972, “Run the f------ play!” — entered a season with such one-season windows knowing the only way to reach the goal was to ground the other under their boot heel.
Never is when.
Rodgers, like Tagovailoa, becomes the centerpiece of his franchise. Each quarterback carries consequential questions into this season in a way that can carry or collapse all hope. For Tagovailoa, questions start with the injury risk that’s been out there since his second — or maybe third — concussion shut down his season.
Rodgers, who turns 40 in December, is coming off an up-and-down year that is either age taking hold or the result of larger Packers questions. Is Rodgers the mediocre 91.1-rated quarterback on a nine-win team like last year or the league MVP like in 2021? Does he get a second wind to his career like Tom Brady leaving New England for Tampa Bay and winning a Super Bowl?
Let’s be clear: The Dolphins path became more difficult Wednesday. The Jets didn’t have a quarterback and now might have one of the game’s best. The question again is whether Rodgers is the quarterback who won the MVP in 2021 or is the Hamlet-in-a-helmet player who wasn’t sure he wanted to keep playing last year.
Let’s also be clear: Rodgers path became more difficult, too. The AFC East isn’t the slapstick defenses of the NFC North that he’s faced in recent years. OK, maybe Buffalo’s defense is, if the last half of last season continues. But he’ll face Bill Belichick’s defense in New England twice a year.
The Dolphins defense, too, has more talent than at any point since Jimmy Johnson’s drafting two young Hall of Famers and two other All-Pro cornerbacks. These Dolphins have drafted some top talent on defense during their tanking years. They bought some, too, of late with Bradley Chubb and Jalen Ramsey.
New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is the team’s biggest signing this offseason, too. Fangio is 64 and Rodgers has played 19 years so of course they have a history. Most of it’s from 2015 to 2018 when Fangio was the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator. Their most recent game was in 2019 when Fangio was the Denver Broncos head coach.
In their eight meetings since 2015, Rodgers is 6-2 against Fangio’s defenses. He’s thrown 15 touchdowns against two interceptions with a 98.5 rating. You won’t have to convince Fangio of the talent the Jets are getting.
The Dolphins-Jets rivalry has been in hibernation for years. That’s because neither team has been good enough. Once upon a time they were. Once, A.J. Duhe intercepted three passes in an AFC Championship Game and the Jets complained about a wet field. Once, Dan Marino threw to deep to Mark Duper to win a 21-17 game on an electric Orange Bowl night
Don Shula once came off his throne to make fun of Jets coach Walt Michaels. Jets defensive coordinator Pete Carroll once threw up a choke sign after Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich missed an extra-point attempt. There also was the Monday Night Meltdown when the Dolphins blew a 30-7 lead in the third quarter and lost. Jason Taylor put a Jets jersey in his locker for the next year to remember that game.
Now the Jets get Rodgers. The Dolphins got plenty. These two teams have a window to win next year with nothing more promised. There’s no need to overstate what this means after a quiet decade between these two teams. It’s on again.
