Jets fans want Aaron Rodgers to go to another darkness retreat after abysmal loss

After their dominant 24-3 victory over the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football last week, many thought the New York Jets were back. Like, for real. Aaron Rodgers was nimble in the pocket and comfortable on the move, legging out multiple positive runs and executing rollouts to perfection.

Rodgers got progressively better in each of the season's first three weeks, shaking off the rust stemming from his Achilles injury in real-time. So, with a softball lined up on the tee in Week 4, it was only natural to expect another Jets masterclass.

How foolish we all were. Never, ever trust the Jets. That is a lesson best learned the hard way, though, and New York delivered the course syllabus on national TV this Sunday.

Battling Bo Nix and the paltry Denver Broncos, New York managed only nine points in an embarrassing 10-9 loss. Nix threw for 60 yards total on the Broncos side of things and somehow got the win.

Rodgers' production was severely muted by his standards. The four-time MVP completed 24 of 42 passes for 225 yards and did not lead a single touchdown drive. He averaged 5.2 yards per attempt, which just isn't good enough for an offense built as explosively (on paper) as the Jets.

New York fans did not handle the loss very well.

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There isn't a fanbase with more pent-up anxiety than the Jets — it's a fact of life — so we can hardly blame them for reacting strongly to such an objectionable performance. The New York fandom has been through the wringer in recent years. Rodgers, fair or not, was viewed as a savior — the long-lost elite quarterback meant to carry the Jets back to relevance in the AFC.

He did not live up to that billing on Sunday. Rodgers still walks and talks like a bonafide superstar. His off-field behavior is indicative of someone who is extremely confident in himself, for better or (more often) for worse. If Rodgers is going to feed into his own legend, which is totally warranted, he needs to back it up with his play. A 10-9 loss to Denver reflects poorly on him and the offense, which even Rodgers can admit.

New York drops to 2-2 and will travel across the Atlantic for a Week 5 showdown with the undefeated Minnesota Vikings in London. Simply put, the schedule won't ease up from here. Denver was supposed to be an easy win to build momentum. Instead, the Jets are doing PR damage control and looking to avoid a complete meltdown on international soil a week from now.

Rodgers should have better games ahead of him — next Sunday's bout comes with a chance to make some history — but New York cannot afford too many more performances like this one.