Coming into the 2023 NFL season, as the league laid out its schedule, it felt like one of the single most anticipated quarterback battles of this modern era of football might actually happen: Aaron Rodgers versus Patrick Mahomes. Unfortunately for Rodgers, it only took a single drive for that dream to turn into a nightmare and for the promise of such a showdown to be snuffed out.
On Monday Night Football, the New. York Jets and Buffalo Bills faced each other in an important early AFC East battle—the first of many primetime viewings for Rodgers with his new team after being traded away from the Green Bay Packers for the first time in his career. Yet instead of being a showcase for the Jets to show off their new toy, Rodgers instead went down on the very first drive when sacked by Bills pass rusher Leonard Floyd.
Whether it's injury or illness, fate has found a way to keep one of the greatest QB matchups ever from happening again.
The injury didn't look good from the moment it happened and post-game analysis confirmed that Rodgers was going to be out for a while. The Jets are now struggling to figure out what they are going to do at the game's most important position if further tests serve to confirm the worst fears: a torn Achilles and a lost season for Rodgers.
The Jets are the biggest losers in all of this, as you have to feel for an organization that finally felt like they'd landed their answer at a troubling position. You also have to feel for Rodgers who has lost a season and faces significant rehab at the age of 40. Beyond all of that, there are other frustrating aspects of this, too, including the fact that other fan basees won't get to see Rodgers play out this season either. It's just sad for the entire league to lose a superstar like this to injury.
For Chiefs Kingdom, it also means that we won't get to see Patrick Mahomes battle it out on the field against Rodgers as the Jets in Week 4. The Chiefs are scheduled to hit the road for another primetime game, and for the first time, Rodgers and Mahomes were finally going to play each other after a couple of other missed opportunities.
Don't forget that due to rotating schedules, some AFC teams don't get to see some NFC teams except every so often. Before now, Mahomes had injured his knee for a brief stint back in 2019, which kept him from getting to play against the Packers. Then COVID would keep Rodgers from being available in the same way in a later season. Now for the third time, we'll all miss out on the first-ever edition of Rodgers v. Mahomes.
Will Rodgers make it back for another season? Will the Jets play the Chiefs, if so? It's impossible to tell if we'll ever see the fireworks of what might have been, but you have to feel for Rodgers and the Jets after seeing such an injury. There are a lot of folks missing out on what was ahead for both the individual and the team.