Aaron Rodgers rejected Robert Saleh’s hug after Jets TD

The New York Jets faithful had their first home game of the season on Thursday night, taking on the rival New England Patriots. The vibes entering Week 3 were one of hope after quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the Jets to his first win with the team. Plus, this week, it was Rodgers' first game at MetLife Stadium since he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in last year's season-opener.

With the Jets having playoff aspirations and the Patriots being in the midst of a rebuild, the expectation was, on paper, that New York would cruise to a victory.

In the first half, Rodgers led the Jets to a 21-3 lead over the Patriots. With how ineffective New England's offensive line was, the game felt as though it was out of reach by halftime.

But during the first half, fans spotted an awkward moment between Rodgers and Jets head coach Robert Saleh. After Rodgers orchestrated a 13-play, 91-yard drive culminating in a one-yard touchdown run by Breece Hall, Saleh was spotted trying to hug his quarterback. From the video, it looked as though Rodgers pushed Saleh back while making a comment and glaring at him.

Aaron Rodgers has awkward exchange with head coach Robert Saleh after touchdown

Considering it is Rodgers and the Jets, this exchange will garner extra attention. From the reactions on social media, lip-readers claimed that Rodgers told Saleh "it's early." As in, it's too early in Rodgers' mind to start celebrating.

Again, this is likely a gigantic nothing burger.

This was, perhaps, the best home opener that Rodgers could have hoped for. From the get-go, Rodgers showed no limitations in his game and was as mobile as ever when running up the field for first downs and to evade defensive pressure.

In the 24-3 win, Rodgers completed 27-of-35 pass attempts for 281 yards and two touchdowns.

The Jets acquired Rodgers last year because they felt they had the roster to compete, and all they needed was a top quarterback to help them contend for a Super Bowl. So they gave a call to the Green Bay Packers, who were ready to move forward with Jordan Love as the starter, and negotiated a trade.

So far, Rodgers is 3-1 as the starting quarterback for the Jets. But the schedule will only get tougher.

UPDATED (12:42 a.m. ET): After the game, Saleh said that Rodgers was letting him know that he gave the defense a two-score lead, which is something they've talked about a bit.

"Part of the things that we've been talking about is to just give the defense a two-score lead," said Saleh. "It was a two-score lead, and I guess he just wanted to see something on defense."

Rodgers confirmed what some had expected when seeing the clip, which was he told Saleh "two-score lead." The quarterback also joked that Saleh wasn't much of a hugger, so he was stunned that he was going for the hug.

"He's not a big hugger, usually, so I didn't know he was going for the hug," said Rodgers. "He likes to do the two-hand chest push as well. He talks a lot about two-score leads. So I just gave him a push and said 'two-score lead.'"

So there you have it. There was no tension between the coach and quarterback. Instead, it was the two acknowledging to each other that the defense had a two-score lead to work with.