On Sunday, the New York Jets suffered yet another defeat when they lost to the Miami Dolphins. This dropped them to an abysmal 3-10 record for the season.
After Sunday’s loss, the Jets’ wide receiver Garrett Wilson suggested that a losing “gene” might be the reason behind these defeats. When asked about this on Wednesday, however, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers offered up a theory of his own that some would argue is bizarre.
‘Some Sort Of Curse…’
“I mean, it might be something like that,” Rodgers said of Wilson’s theory. “It might be some sort of curse we’ve got to snap as well.”
Jets fans have speculated that a curse could be at play ever since Joe Namath delivered on his Super Bowl guarantee in January of 1969. The Jets have never made another Super Bowl in the decades since then, and it doesn’t seem to matter how much money they spend or how many Hall of Famers they bring into the building.
“Whatever the case, this team, this organization is going to figure out how to get over the hump at some point,” Rodgers continued. “The culture is built by the players. There’s a framework set down by the organization, by the upper ups, by the staff. But in the end, it’s the players that make it come to life.”
“And at some point, everybody’s going to have to figure out what that special sauce is to turn those games that should be wins into wins,” he added.
Of course, we all think about the quarterback as being the de facto captain of the team. So if the players don’t have the juice… are we supposed to look at Rodgers, or just generic “players”?
Related: Aaron Rodgers Gets Tense When Asked About The Jets Terrible Playoff Drought
Rodgers Still Has Hope
Despite their losing record, the Jets have actually gone into the fourth quarter with a lead in five games this season. This has happened in their last three games, each of which they ultimately lost. That’s likely what prompted Wilson’s losing “gene” theory, much to Rodgers’ chagrin.
“I’m not exactly sure what he was talking about there,” Rodgers stated. “I don’t know what the proper nomenclature is for the situation where we’ve lost some leads or haven’t been able to take the lead late in the game, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. We haven’t been great in situational football.”
“A lot of those games come down to the plays in the first and second, even third quarter, where if you make the play the game is not in that situation,” he explained. “But in those situations, we haven’t been very good on offense or defense or even (special) teams.”
Related: Super Bowl Champ Blasts Aaron Rodgers for His ‘Smugness’ Despite Completely Failed Season
Rodgers Thinks Jets Are ‘Close’ To A Winning Culture
Rodgers went on to say that “it takes a conscious effort, it takes an intentional effort” to create a culture that revolves around winning. Despite all their losses, he believes that the Jets are “on the edge” of that this year.
“We just haven’t quite figured out how to get that special sauce worked out, mixed up,” he concluded. “It’s close and a lot of great guys are in the locker room. There’s some good mix of veterans and young guys, but we just haven’t quite put it all together.”
Rodgers himself has been to one Super Bowl, which he won with the Green Bay Packers. In moving to New York, he was hoping to replicate that same success with the Jets. Unfortunately for them, it doesn’t seem like this will be happening anytime soon.
Only time will tell if Rodgers and his teammates are ever able to overcome the potential Jets “curse” and turn things around!