NASHVILLE – It wasn’t the classic Aaron Rodgers, but the Jets will make it work.
Rodgers delivered a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter and gave the Jets their first win of the season, a narrow 24-17 victory over the Titans at Nissan Stadium.
Rodgers struggled early on, but made enough decisive shots to keep the Jets at 1-1 after their two-game road trip to open the season.
Titans quarterback Will Levis helped the Jets with a fumble and an interception, and the Titans fell to 0-2.
Rodgers finished the game 18 of 30 for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
But the only thing people will remember about this game is the 74-yard drive he orchestrated in the fourth quarter that clinched the win.
The fourth quarter began with a tie of 17:17.
Both teams punted on their first two possessions of the fourth quarter and then the Jets broke through.
With 8:41 minutes left in the game, the Jets took over at their own 26-yard line.
The first big play of the drive came on third and 1, when Rodgers found Garrett Wilson for a 26-yard gain that gave the Jets the lead at Tennessee’s 39-yard line.
After a six-yard loss on a Breece Hall run, Rodgers found Mike Williams for a 19-yard catch on a 50/50 ball that Williams caught at the Titans’ 19-yard line for his first catch as a Jet.
Rookie running back Braelon Allen then scored his second touchdown of the day.
This was a 20-yard run after he scored on a pass reception earlier in the game.
The Allen touchdown put the Jets up 24-17 with 4:31 minutes left in the game.
The Jets defense then had to fend off one last attack from the Titans.
They made it to the Jets’ 8-yard line after a 13-yard run by Levis that looked like he was about to get sacked.
Jets defensive end Will McDonald recorded his third sack of the game on third down and then Jets safety Tony Adams batted Levis’ pass out of Tyler Boyd’s hands on fourth down.
The Jets played much better in the second half than in the first, in which they made too many mistakes and seemed uninspired.
The Jets received six penalties in the first half, five of them on defense.
Safety Chuck Clark committed two major personal fouls – one for a horse-collar tackle and another for unnecessary roughness.
Jermaine Johnson also committed a personal foul for roughness against the passer, although this seemed to be a questionable decision.
The Jets appeared sluggish on both sides of the ball.
On offense, they punted on their first three drives and seemed out of sync.
Rodgers seemed nervous at first and did not have a good overview of the field.
On defense, the Jets struggled to slow down the Titans until Levis started handing the ball off.
Tennessee managed a nine-play, 58-yard drive that ended with Calvin Ridley scoring at the 10-yard line to give the Titans a 7-0 lead.
It looked like the Titans might take a two-point lead as they advanced to the Jets’ 6-yard line, but then Levis made his first big mistake of the game.
He took off running and then ran into Jets defensive end Will McDonald who was lying on the ground.
Instead of simply going down, he threw the ball backwards and Jets linebacker Quincy Williams recovered the fumble.
The Jets were unable to capitalize on this loss and had to punt the ball, but Levis immediately gave it back to the Jets.
On the first play after the punt, he threw an interception to Brandin Echols.
This time Rodgers took advantage of the loss of the ball.
The Jets gained 73 yards in 12 plays and Rodgers threw a short pass to Allen, who scored a 12-yard touchdown.
It was a beautifully planned play in which Rodgers faked a throw to Hall to the right and then went left to Allen, who scored his first NFL touchdown.
Former Jet Nick Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Titans a 10-7 lead.
The Jets had the ball at the start of the second half and after helping the Titans with penalties in the first half, they got a big one back in return.
Rodgers’ pass to Mike Williams on third-and-15 was incomplete and it looked like the Titans had left the field, but Jeffery Simmons was given a roughness the passer penalty, giving the Jets 15 yards and a first down.
On the next play, Hall ran for 30 yards and Rodgers threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Hall, giving the Jets a 14-10 lead.
Hall scored the decisive point with a beautiful catch and a jump over Titans linebacker Kenneth Murray.
Irv Charles, who had an outstanding game on special teams, blocked a punt by Ryan Stonehouse with 8:18 minutes left in the third quarter and gave the Jets the ball at the Titans’ 30-yard line.
But the Jets offense failed to get the ball into the end zone after the special teams play.
Instead, they had to settle for a 33-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein, which extended the lead to 17-10.
The Titans responded on the following drive with a touchdown to tie the score by Ridley after an incredible catch.
The score was made possible by a 21-yard run by Levis on third and 1 that kept the drive alive.
Levis then threw a ball along the right sideline to Ridley, who was closely covered by Sauce Gardner and Clark, who were coming toward the ball.
However, Gardner did not turn around to see the ball and Ridley made a diving touchdown that tied the game at 17-17 with 3:22 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Jets suffered a serious injury while pursuing Levis. Defensive end Jermaine Johnson injured his right Achilles tendon while pursuing Levis. If the tendon tears, Johnson will likely miss the rest of the season.
