This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Aaron Rodgers still has it.
The 40-year-old turned back the clock on Thursday night, carving up the New England Patriots’ defense to lead the New York Jets to a 24-3 victory. Rodgers completed 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns.
Rodgers’ stat line didn’t tell the whole story, though.
New England had trouble getting to Rodgers all night, pressuring him often, only to see the 20-year NFL veteran use his legs to scramble out of danger and hit an open man on the run. Passes were crisp. Spreading the wealth looked easy. It felt like we were watching the Rodgers of old.
There’s a lot of football left to be played, but if Rodgers can replicate Thursday’s performance on a biweekly basis—at least—he’s going to put together one hell of a season.
And it should be his last if that’s the case.
Like it or not, Rodgers really has nothing left to prove. He’s a four-time MVP. He’s got a Super Bowl ring on his finger. He’s cemented himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
Rodgers had his 2023 campaign cut remarkably short when he tore his left Achilles after taking just four snaps in New York’s season opener against the Buffalo Bills. Now here he is, at the age of 40, looking spry as ever.
Watching Rodgers put together a strong season and potentially lead the Jets to a playoff berth—or better yet, a championship—on the heels of a season-ending Achilles injury before riding off into the sunset is the perfect ending.
New York isn’t, and shouldn’t be, the favorite to go all the way by any means, but we should get to see Rodgers for at least one playoff game.
Suppose Rodgers has himself a season for the ages, then opts to keep playing. How do you possibly go up from there? You don’t. If we’re lucky in that scenario, Rodgers doesn’t show all that much regression in 2025 and just kind of falls to the wayside, eventually hanging up the cleats in a year or two.
But Father Time is undefeated. And something tells us that a 41-year-old Rodgers would be a pretty favorable matchup for him. Injury could end Rodgers’ career once and for all, or we could see a shell of a man who once threw for 48 touchdowns against just five picks in one season.
I don’t know about you, but that’s not how I want to remember one of the most talented signal-callers of this generation.
Granted, all of this is pretty easy for me to say, sitting in front of my laptop, typing, something I could do until I’m 85. Writing has a long shelf life. A lot of careers do. Football doesn’t. So, I reckon it’s pretty hard to step away from it when you’re still succeeding.
However, if the chance to go out on top presents itself, you might as well take it.
