It wasn’t easy, but the New York Jets recovered from a slow start to spoil the Tennessee Titans 2024 home opener with a 24-17 victory. The win was not only the first of the season for the Jets but the first for Aaron Rodgers, which Jets fans hope will be the first of many to come.
Here are three takeaways from their victory over the Titans.
Timely takeaways: Although the offense struggled to get any positive momentum in the first few drives, it
was their defense that kept them in the game, forcing two timely takeaways on consecutive plays in the second quarter.
With the Titans leading 7-0 and lined up on the Jets 6-yard line, Titans quarterback Will Levis was sacked for a loss by defensive end Will McDonald. However, as he was going to the ground, Levis tried an awkward underhanded flip that was recovered by Quincy Williams.
Regardless of the puzzling nature of the play, the Jets were able to keep the Titans from extending their lead.
While the Jets were forced to punt after a quick three-and-out possession, they got the ball right back one play later, as a Levis deep ball intended for Treylon Burks was snatched out of the air by Brandin Echols, which the Jets offense converted into a touchdown to tie the game.
For a highly praised defense, this was a happy sight after what was a rough week last week. And it will be important for the Jets defense to continue to make big-time plays in the future.
Breakout Braelon: Being the youngest player in the National Football League didn’t stop rookie running
back Braelon Allen from having a breakout game. Allen was selected with the 134th overall pick in the fourth round of this past April’s draft, and he wasted little time making an impact on his new team. The 20-year age gap between the NFL’s oldest player, Aaron Rodgers, and the NFL’s youngest, Allen, came together for two touchdowns.
The first came on the Jets’ final drive of the first half, where Rodgers dumped the ball off to Allen, who weaved through the Titans’ defense and into the end zone for the first touchdown of his NFL career.
Allen wouldn’t have to wait long for his second, as with the game tied at 17 with just under five minutes to go, he took a handoff on the Titans 20-yard line and ran it into the end zone for what ended up being the game-winning score.
“It doesn’t get much easier than that,” Allen said. “Those two touchdowns had perfect blocking. Obviously, being on the field with Breece [Hall] because he takes so much attention. It kind of takes the eyes off me.”
Allen finished the game with seven carries for 33 yards and a touchdown to go along with two receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown.
Great No. 8: With the game tied at 17 going into the team’s final drive, the Jets’ quarterback had to
come up big — and he did just that. Rodgers drove his team 74 yards down the field for a touchdown
capped off by a 20-yard run by Allen.
On the drive, Rodgers was 5-of-5 passing for 60 yards, showing signs of his old Green Bay form. The drive consisted of two deep passes: One 26-yard connection to Garrett Wilson and another 19 yards to Mike Williams.
“I’m always confident when we take the field, we’re going to score,” Rodgers said. “We had to make a couple of plays there. G [Garrett Wilson] did some squirrely stuff down the field and made a great adjustment, and Mike [Williams] had a chance on a ball, and he came down with it. So those were two big plays, and then we blew a hole open on the right side to put it in.”
After a rough start, Rodgers found his stride. In the afternoon, he completed 18 of his 30 pass attempts for 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
