Davante Adams might have swapped the Las Vegas Raiders for the New York Jets but things didn’t start off as planned as he walked off the field the victim of a 37-15 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, October 20 at the Acrisure Stadium.
The 31-year-old wide receiver has been crashing at Aaron Rodgers‘ home since relocating from Nevada to New York and they really made an effort to reconnect, as they so successfully did at the Green Bay Packers, but it didn’t work out.
Adams only made three receptions for 30 yards on his debut in green and white, whilst Rodgers tossed two interceptions, as the Jets were completely shut out in the second half as the Steelers went on to dominate.
As a result, they are now third in the AFC East and have fallen behind the Miami Dolphins as their underwhelming season continues to rage on despite sacking Robert Saleh, their three-year-long head coach, at the start of October.
That was also the story at the Las Vegas Raiders too, who regularly failed to live up to their hype and eventually forced Adams to force the trade through so that he can try to win a Super Bowl ring somewhere else.
“That’s almost what pi**es you off even more,” Adams said of the loss in Pennsylvania, despite the team scoring 17 points. “Knowing that you’ve got those type of weapons and to come up short.”
Rodgers takes the blame
Meanwhile Rodgers, in his seventh game back from his Achilles injury in 2023, has not managed to recapture the form that made him a Packers icon and come to be regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.
Rodgers tossed two interceptions and only managed to set up Adams and Garrett Wilson for a combined eight receptions for 91 yards as the offense figuratively took the night off at the Acrisure Stadium, leaving the 40-year-old demanding more.
“I have to play better,” said Rodgers to media. “That’s the key. I have to play better. We have to find a way to run the ball better so we can play-action pass.
“It felt like the energy – and it starts with me – the energy, for whatever reason at halftime, was a little flat.
“It felt like it was flat before the game too. So I look at myself and what I can do to bring better energy, but we all have to do better.
“I mean, ‘Sunday Night Football’ on NBC, the only show on TV. I live for these games and I just don’t quite understand why the energy was a little bit flat.”