Aaron Rodgers – Jets’ offense needs to ‘grow up,’ not point fingers

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – Injured New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers wants his teammates to do a better job of dealing with adversity, and he wants fans – including franchise icon Joe Namath – to stay positive.

Rodgers said Tuesday in his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he didn’t care about the sideline behavior during Sunday’s 15-10 loss to the New England Patriots.

“I think we need to keep our balance a little better across the board,” Rodgers said. “Just offensively, we’ve got to not let some of those things fall to the wayside and be a little better and be a little better competitor.”

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson and running back Michael Carter were caught on camera having animated conversations with assistant coaches. Carter, in particular, was hot; He was yelling at running backs coach Taylor Embree.

“There were a lot of little conversations, and we just need to take a little offense and go about our business and not point fingers at each other,” said Rodgers, who watched from his home in Malibu, California — and that’s every Somebody is. Don’t point fingers at the coaching staff, don’t point fingers at each other. Just go back to work and get the job done.”

The Jets (1-2) have lost two consecutive games, as the Zach Wilson-led offense scored only two touchdowns in the two losses. Wilson, who replaced Rodgers in the fifth match of the opener, has come under criticism.

“I feel like if I had been there, some of those things might not be happening,” said Rodgers, who had Achilles surgery on Sept. 13.[I’m] Not sure if we’ll be 3-0 — I don’t know that. I’d like to think that’s a possibility, but it’s other things that I don’t like and I want us to be together through difficult times.”

Namath added fuel to the fire by blasting Wilson in an interview with “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN New York Radio on Monday. Namath said Wilson was “terrible” against the Patriots, also saying he would pick the former No. 2 overall pick because he “has seen a lot of Jack Wilson.” He also said that coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas should be replaced.

Rodgers was asked about Namath’s comments, and although he did not address Namath by name, he made it clear that he did not appreciate the negativity.

“How do we respond when we’re not having success? How do we respond to adversity? And that applies to our fan base and former players as well,” Rodgers said. “You are not helping the cause.

“I want to see everyone stick together – our fan base, our former players and our current players because there’s so much negativity and the world is collapsing after three weeks. [It’s] A long season, a lot of time, a lot of things that can happen. So, let’s just take a few breaths, okay? I’m not going to say that we need to relax. Let’s take a few breaths.”

In the early stages of rehabilitation, Rodgers has indicated he could participate in Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium.

“You never know who you’re going to see in a game,” he said.

He may have been referring to Taylor Swift, who caused a stir last Sunday when she attended the Chiefs’ home game against the Chicago Bears after being invited by tight end Travis Kelce.