It was 10 years ago that the Green Bay Packers started their season 1–2, with the defeats coming by a combined 32 points. The sky was falling in Green Bay for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, but Aaron Rodgers quelled many of those concerns by telling Packers fans to relax, even spelling out the word during a radio interview.
Immediately afterwards, the Packers went on a four-game win streak and won nine of their next 10 overall. They finished the year 12–4, made the playoffs and lost in the NFC Championship Game.
Now, a decade older and in a new location, the four-time MVP is offering an updated version of his infamous comment. Rodgers is now with the New York Jets, and while he made it through more than four plays in his 2024 season debut, unlike his 2023 debut, the Jets were taken down by a San Francisco 49ers team in Week 1 that was without arguably its best player in running back Christian McCaffrey.
Rodgers, perhaps aware that his relax comments in the past may not have made their way to New York City, is again trying to calm his team’s fan base after the Monday Night Football loss to San Francisco.
Leave it to Rodgers to analogize the Jets season to a type of Spanish dance that peaked in the 19th century. But the takeaway theme is that Monday night was just one of 18. Unlike Week 1 of last season, when Rodgers suffered a season-ending torn Achilles’ tendon, that one game doesn’t define a season as the Jets actually won their season opener in 2023 only to finish 7-10 and miss the playoffs.
Reactions from Jets fans a year ago after Rodgers’ injury—saying their franchise was cursed and their season was over—were somewhat appropriate. However, those same reactions after this year’s opening game are a bit much, in Rodgers opinion, and he’s stressing patience from both the Jets’ faithful and the team itself.
“The league is a lot different than when I said ’relax' years ago in that there’s just so much more coverage, that there’s so much more opportunity for overreaction,” Rodgers said. “So I get it. We want to win, the fans want to win, the organization wants to win, but the process has to be the same. If it’s good enough in Week 1, it’s good enough in the playoffs, so we’ve got to stick to the process and the preparation, the way that goes, and trust that it’s good enough.”
While there are no such things as moral victories in the NFL—just wins and losses—there were some positives from New York’s 32–19 defeat to San Francisco, particularly on offense. Rodgers looked healthy and had some mobility as he was sacked only once by a defense that ranked third in points allowed last season. Last year, the Jets allowed the fourth-most sacks in the league, giving up an average of 3.8 per game.
New York was also efficient in the areas where it matters most—on third downs and in the red zone. They converted 60 percent of their third-down attempts, which was the second-highest percentage of any team in Week 1, and they scored touchdowns on both of their trips inside the 20-yard-line. The Jets ranked dead last in both third-down percentage and red-zone scoring last season.
The team managed to do this with one of its prized offseason additions, wide receiver Mike Williams, playing just nine snaps. A two-time 1,000-yard receiver with the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams tore his ACL in Week 3 of last season and is being eased back into the lineup with limited snaps. He should only play more going forward, giving Rodgers a nice trio of receivers along with Garrett Wilson, who is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, and former Packers teammate Allen Lazard, whose two touchdowns in Week 1 already doubled his total all of last year.
While the Packers won their next four games after Rodgers’ original “relax” quote, the Jets certainly have that possibility in front of them with an easy schedule over the next month. Their next four games are all against teams that missed the playoffs and finished under .500 last season. They will visit the Titans on Sunday, host the Patriots the following Thursday, host the Broncos in Week 4 and then visit the Vikings in Week 5. Those four squads went a combined 25-43 last season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Rodgers took a look at the upcoming schedule before offering Relax Part II.
