The Jets are out of scapegoats and need a quarterback

The final moment of Sunday's game provided useful symbolism: The New York Jets' offense was lined up and ready to hit the ball, except for their quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was already leaving the field. There were no timeouts to stop the clock. Time ran out during the Jets' final drive. The game was over and Rodgers knew it a second before his teammates did. He was one step ahead of them, or maybe they were never in sync to begin with.

The Jets lost 25-22 yesterday in what could prove to be the highlight of the New England Patriots' season. They have the same track record as a rebuilding division rival that has relied heavily on Jacoby Brissett as its starting quarterback and may continue to do so after Drake Maye suffered a concussion in the first half of Sunday's game. The Jets should be a Super Bowl contender with a healthy Rodgers; They are 2-6 and would be extraordinarily lucky to make the playoffs at this point. In eight games last year, they were 4-4 against Zach Wilson. How many excuses are there for Rodgers?

The Jets have done everything they can to appease this needy situation. They built the roster around him and made sure to include some of his old Packers friends as well. They brought in Nathaniel Hackett, who had to be demoted because he was so bad at calling plays on offense. They fired head coach Robert Saleh when it was clear he and Rodgers weren't getting along. They traded for another former Packers buddy, Davante Adams, a few weeks ago when he was available. This squad is full of talent, and yet the results are what they are: five defeats in a row, three of them after Saleh's dismissal. Maybe the head coach wasn't the problem. Maybe it was the toxic presence of the quarterback who needs everything to suit his needs and still can't get it done.

“I thought we played with some passion,” Rodgers said after the loss to New England. “We just didn’t do enough in terms of execution. Offensively, we set out to score 30 points and that was exactly what we needed. We had a second-and-goal, couldn't convert, there were points, we missed a field goal, so we're right there. This is a man who is out of touch with reality. The Jets haven't scored 30 points in a game all season. They have scored 20 or more points in just four games. Instead of using the majestic plural or omitting ten dollar words in presses, Rodgers could start speaking in the first person. Whose job is it to take first downs, convert and raise the football before time expires if not him? Who other than the quarterback should lead the offense to 30 points?

Saleh's successor is not yet ready to give up. “This is a moment of darkness and we understand that the outside world is going to be really loud right now,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said after the game. “But the one thing I know in life is that when things get dark and hard, you work and point the finger at yourself and look within and figure out what I can do better from an individual perspective. If we do this together, and I believe we will. This is your only chance to get out of this.”

When a reporter relayed Ulbrich's comments to Rodgers, he said this: “Yes, I was in the dark. You have to go in there and make peace with it.” He can share more of those deep insights on Tuesday as dead-eyed Pat McAfee massages his ego. There is no reason to be confident anymore; That actually never existed. It may only be Week 8 of the NFL season, but this certainly seems to be the end for this sad team. The Jets would have been better off with a third-round Joe Flacco.