Aaron Rodgers says Jets won because 'season was on the line'

The second touchdown against Wilson (9 catches/90 yards) was spectacular and almost didn't happen. On the previous play, third-and-9 at the Houston 16, Rodgers cleverly gained 13 yards, but the play was aborted due to a waiting call against rookie Olu Fashanu.

“I looked reasonably athletic,” Rodgers said. “I didn’t hurt myself.”

Rodgers was pushed back to the 26 on a third-and-19 and saw a chance on the left side to let Wilson go upfield to get the ball. And that's exactly what he did – a jump split, a foot in and a shin down in front of the knee, a TD confirmed on review.

“When it was the third and extra long round, I looked at the weak side safety and thought if he falls down at all, I would just say, screw it, I'll throw it on G,” said Rodgers, who finished the game 22 of 32 for Finished with 211 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions. “I felt like I put it in a good spot. But yeah, basically I didn't do much. I just threw one up there. He made an incredible catch. When I saw the replay, it looked like he had a knee [actually his shin] So I thought: shoot, throw the challenge flag. brick [interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich] was already in front of me and threw it. But that was a huge game. The first one was also a huge play. But what was the third and twentieth? Yes. I mean, this is a game-changing game.”

And Rodgers then led a march that began with 6:54 to play and ended 3:58 later, putting the game on the ice for the Jets. On the Texans' 37th play, Rodgers landed a perfect strike into the waiting arms of Davante Adams on the home sideline for a touchdown that put the final nail in the coffin. The last time the two friends worked together on a TD pass was in 2021 when they played for Green Bay. This was their 69th TD collaboration.

“This is something that lasts years, you know, this is a relationship that's much deeper than the three or four weeks they were together,” Jeff Ulbrich said of the connection between Rodgers and Adams.