Report: Jets Player Speculated Team Called Plays to Get Aaron Rodgers to 500 TD Mark

Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 11, 2025

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An anonymous New York Jets player believes the team’s offense was purposely pass-happy throughout the 2024 season in an effort to help quarterback Aaron Rodgers reach a milestone.

According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, the player speculated that passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Todd Downing, who took over the Jets’ offensive play-calling duties in October, went heavy on passing plays to help Rodgers reach 500 career touchdown passes.

Rodgers achieved the mark in the Jets’ final game of the season, as he threw four touchdown passes in a 32-20 win over the Miami Dolphins, giving him 503 for his career.

NFL @NFLAARON RODGERS 500 TDs 🚨

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Per Cimini, Rodgers had he second-most passing attempts in the league in 2024 with 584, and he set a Jets franchise record with 640 dropbacks.

The Jets also threw the ball at a higher rate than any other team inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, resulting in a red-zone efficiency rank of 21st in the NFL.

Given that he is 41 years old and came back from an Achilles tear suffered at the start of the 2023 season, Rodgers put up solid stats in 2024.

The four-time NFL MVP and future Hall of Famer completed 63.0 percent of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also threw it enough to accommodate two 1,000-yard receivers in Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams.

However, that passing game production came at the expense of the rushing attack, as running back Breece Hall finished with just 876 yards and five touchdowns on 4.2 yards per carry after recording 994 yards and five scores with a 4.5 yards-per-carry average in 2023.

Hall’s passing game usage also dipped from 76 catches for 591 yards and four scores in 2023 to 57 grabs for 483 yards and three scores in 2024.

Cimini noted that Hall never reached the 20-carry mark in a game, which was curious given his effectiveness over the course of his young career.

It has reportedly been speculated that Rodgers played a role in that by regularly audibling out of runs and into passes, but a Jets player told Cimini that it “wasn’t as often as it appeared.”

Overall, the Jets went 5-12 this season with five of their losses being by multiple scores, which may explain why they passed it as much as they did.

However, it is fair to wonder if the Jets may have had a better chance to win some of their one-score losses had they been more balanced on offense.

Regardless of how it happened, the Jets extended their league-worst playoff drought to 14 seasons, and they appear prepared to start with a clean slate at head coach, general manager and likely quarterback.

While Rodgers has not made a commitment one way or the other to playing in 2025 or retiring, he did acknowledge that he may have played his final game in the NFL.

If that is the case, he out on a high note by beating the Dolphins and becoming only the fifth player in NFL history to throw at least 500 career touchdown passes.