Aaron Rodgers knew the Titans were in Cover 0.

The New York Jets quarterback knew Tennessee’s tight crowd at the line of scrimmage would alert him to a deep safety on this third-and-one play, but instead he turned his attention to star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed’s tight coverage of receiver Garrett Wilson.

Rodgers watched as his No. 1 receiver pulled outside and looked back expectantly. Rodgers watched as Wilson then pulled inside, eyes still locked on the ball. Rodgers threw a 26-yard over-the-shoulder throw with an ease that such performances should not dictate.

Wilson caught it. And the Jets’ lead ended with another down.

“From Sneed’s vantage point, it seemed to me like the only way to complete the ball was to throw it back inside,” Rodgers said later. “(Wilson) is so talented that for him that was probably an easy play, whereas for most people that’s probably a play that’s going to go down in the highlights.”

Two plays later, on second and 16, Rodgers found Mike Williams for a similar flop on the other side of the field.

With 4:36 left, rookie running back Braelon Allen scored a 20-yard touchdown to seal the Jets’ 24-17 victory and Rodgers’ first win as both a starter and a finisher for New York.

The win lifted spirits throughout the club, but concerns remained as the Jets played a conservative game plan for the second consecutive season that did little to showcase Rodgers’ talent.

“Unfortunately, it’s still early in the process,” Rodgers explained. “We haven’t put it together yet.”

And yet the Jets are taking confidence from the prospect of what they can become, clinging to the signs of a well-functioning offense despite playing against the San Francisco 49ers and Titans and otherwise making it clear that they still don’t have it all figured out.

“I think we’ll look back at the end of the season and know that those were two really good defenses, whether they’re top 10, top 15 or top five,” Rodgers said. “Two really good defenses, two good strategies. Sometimes it’s a bad throw, sometimes it’s a missing milestone in the run game, sometimes route concepts get messed up and we don’t run the right route. Just little things. That’s correctable.”

“But good teams can finish games in difficult environments. And I hope we will be really grateful for that in the future.”

Where were Rodgers’ downfield passes against Titans?

Rodgers did not earn his four MVP awards by exclusively defending passes near the line of scrimmage throughout his career.

The Jets traded several draft picks in 2023 and paid Rodgers generously to acquire a decades-long magic show, collectively powered by rare arm talent and rare processing power.

Rodgers capitalized on that potential on the Jets’ final possession, combining his understanding of the Titans’ coverage with an innate sense of his teammates’ spacing to orchestrate the decisive attack.

The success Rodgers has had in this series targeting Wilson and Williams deep begs the question: Why has he ventured into those waters so rarely throughout the game?

Rodgers attempted just five passes over 10 air yards on Sunday, his third-fewest attempts in a game since 2016, according to Next Gen Stats. (Rodgers has played more than 90 games during that span.)

Entering the Jets’ final drive, Rodgers had completed only one pass that went further than 9 yards.

This pass was the result of a call from running back Breece Hall during a timeout called to counter Rodgers’ near delay of game offense. Hall went to Rodgers during that timeout to alert his quarterback that he had to face a linebacker.

Hall then broke away from the linebacker and caught a 26-yard touchdown in the air in a manner more befitting a wide receiver than a running back.

“I may not have thrown the best ball,” Rodgers said, “but he caught it well.”

To be fair, the Jets implemented their bubble screen and short-air yardage strategy partly intentionally against a Titans defense that signed high-paying defensive backs in the offseason and neutralized first-round draft pick Caleb Williams in Week 1. The Jets emphasized the quick game, and Rodgers completed 13 of his 18 passes in under 2.5 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats.

But Rodgers’ 3 of 5 successful passes for 71 yards and a touchdown on attempts over 10 air yards suggest that this team has more to offer.

The Jets won’t always face a team whose quarterback throws an interception and loses a fumble; the Titans also attempt a punt that the Jets block. New York needs its passing attack to bolster its running game and defensive strength.

The team is convinced that they will succeed with Rodgers.

“We’re obviously working through things,” said head coach Robert Saleh. “The guy is an instant Hall of Famer and has been in this league for a very, very long time, so he’s seen it all. It’s pretty cool that he’s in the huddle for a lot of guys who haven’t seen it all.”

Why the Jets believe the recent win will lead to more wins

Rodgers was a regular player for the Green Bay Packers for 15 years and established a winning culture.

The Packers won 10 times in those 15 years, and in 10 of those 13 years, Rodgers was healthy for most of the season. The Jets won four times in that 15-year span.

Rodgers’ Packers made the playoffs in 11 of those years; New York made the playoffs twice, most recently in the 2010 season.

Saleh acknowledged the impact of that history on his players and the contrasting impact of Rodgers’ resume after Sunday’s game.

“We’re a young team and an organization that’s been through this for the last 13 years, so we’re going to learn a lot as we go along,” Saleh said. “When you look at the game, the way it’s evolving, the mindset of ‘we can score on any drive’ is going to take over at some point. And once that completely takes over, I think it’s going to be free-flowing and look beautiful when it all comes together.”

“Having a guy like Aaron who just exudes that calm presence at quarterback is priceless.”

Rodgers echoed Saleh’s sentiments, confirming that he approaches every offense with the confidence to score, even though he knows that outcome doesn’t always come. Winning games where offenses falter is key, he said. Staying focused in the fourth quarter when trying to take the lead (and fend off a counterattack on defense) is an art.

Rodgers compared the team’s cool demeanor on Sunday to what he saw as a negative last season after the Jets lost him to a torn Achilles tendon, and explained why a Week 2 win over a team from a different division that didn’t make the playoffs last year is important.

“Late in the season, when you’re trying to get into the playoffs, you look back,” Rodgers said. “It was a hot day, a short week, a really good defense, a really slow start, but a path to victory. That’s what really good teams do. Great teams, when you’re up 14-10, you block a punt and score a touchdown to go up by two points. So we’re not quite there yet.”

His teammates echoed this sentiment, pointing out the plays where they missed their chances, but at the same time expressing confidence as if they had experienced this before.

Take Hall, for example, whose 114 yards from the offensive line anchored a running back room that increased its contribution from 100 total yards from the offensive line and one touchdown in Week 1 to 170 yards and three touchdowns in Week 2.

He celebrated – and expected better.

“We pulled ourselves together and got it done in the end, but we’re getting better,” Hall said. “We expected it today. We’re happy we won. But we still feel like we can get better.”