Winners, losers of Jets' win vs. Bills: Aaron Rodgers' injury is crushing blow to New York

The curtain fell on Week 1 of the NFL season – and quite likely on the New York Jets’ 2023 campaign – even though they stunned the defending AFC East champion Buffalo Bills 22-16 in overtime to cap a long-anticipated matchup.

Of course, the result on the scoreboard was nearly immaterial on a night when new NYJ QB Aaron Rodgers, the four-time league MVP and club’s long-awaited savior, was carted off with an injury to his lower left leg just four snaps into his official Gang Green debut. Following the (Pyrrhic) victory, Jets coach Robert Saleh acknowledged the team fears Rodgers suffered an Achilles injury.

While there were some bright spots at MetLife Stadium, the list of losers Monday night most definitely outstripped the winners in terms of significance.

Let’s get to the ugly rundown:

LOSERS

Aaron Rodgers: Not much else needs to be said here for the 39-year-old superstar who seemed completely invested in breaking his new employer's nearly 55-year Super Bowl drought. He was mentoring youngsters, leaving tens of millions of dollars on the salary cap table and fully embracing "The City That Never Sleeps." Heck, the guy came out of the Jets' tunnel on the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 carrying the American flag, igniting joy in an adoring crowd on what's typically such a solemn day in the greater New York area. But not only does his 2023 season seem over almost as soon as it started, speculation about Rodgers’ career can’t be far off, either.

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Jets offensive line: It was this team’s biggest question mark throughout the offseason, its starting five together in a game setting Monday for the first time in 2023. The concerns proved more than legitimate, Rodgers pressured on all three of his dropbacks before going down on the sack that ended his night and, probably, his season. And matters didn’t improve all that much afterward, backup QB Zach Wilson often running for his life while being exposed to heavy abuse from the Buffalo defense.

Josh Allen: The Bills’ Pro Bowl quarterback dropped to 0-5 in overtime games on another night when he forced balls (four turnovers) and absorbed too much punishment. Tuesday won’t dawn as darkly in Buffalo as it will in New York, but Allen must stop talking about protecting the rock and actually do it.

NFL schedule makers: Rodgers’ opening act in New York was supposed to be the cherry on top of the league’s opening act. Not so much. He’s also why the NYJ were slotted into six exclusive broadcast windows after being an afterthought for basically the past decade. Now? You can already feel the juice ebbing out of their Week 4 Sunday nighter against the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Jets' next prime-time appearance.

Green Bay Packers: That first-round draft pick they thought they were getting in 2024 will now remain a second given it seems Rodgers won't be playing 65% of the Jets' snaps.

Mike Greenberg: Someone check on the ESPN personality, as ardent a Jets fan as there is. He may be headed for a lengthy darkness retreat.

‘JetLife’ Stadium: Rodgers bestowed the nickname on his new home after beating the crosstown (cross-state?) Giants during preseason. He should’ve known better than to tempt the football gods who look so unkindly on the Gotham Green and Spotlight White. (And, not for nothing, the building was none too kind to the Giants in their 40-0 drubbing from the Dallas Cowboys – the Jets' next opponent – on Sunday night.)

Robert Saleh: You could see how sick the Jets coach was while discussing Rodgers’ injury. Maybe New York can still salvage a wild card at season’s end, but even that would likely feel pretty hollow given the expectations justifiably heaped upon this club.

WINNERS

Robert Saleh: Gutsy call going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Buffalo 18-yard line with the game tied and fewer than three minutes remaining. Wilson executed a sneak for 2 yards, though ultimately couldn’t bleed the clock before the Jets kicked a field goal (Buffalo tied the game on its next drive). Still, amid the most extreme form of football adversity, Saleh displayed unwavering belief in his team while fueling a raucous locker room celebration. His leadership and confidence could still pay off over the long, long, long run. Oh yeah, he’s also 1-0 for the first time in his three-season stewardship, an accomplishment he vowed to enjoy … no matter how briefly.

Xavier Gipson: The undrafted rookie and “Hard Knocks” subject may ultimately be a footnote given the secondary importance of this contest’s result. But you gotta hope he fully rejoiced after scoring the game-winning TD with that 65-yard punt return in overtime.

Damar Hamlin: The Bills safety wasn’t active – he did play throughout the preseason – but he’s a winner by definition when considering the ordeal he suffered in Cincinnati eight months ago. It was plenty uplifting watching Hamlin break a sweat and interact with fans in pregame warmups prior to a contest that counts for the first time since his frightening cardiac event in January. And, frankly, you’d kinda like to see Hamlin make his official return in Orchard Park in front of an adoring Bills Mafia anyway.

Zach Wilson: The No. 2 pick of the 2021 draft seemed like he’d be relegated to the pine for some time in the wake of Rodgers’ arrival. He had an uneven performance in relief (14-for-21 for 140 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), but it was good enough to beat the Bills for a second straight year. Regardless, Wilson now has a golden opportunity – despite the Tom Brady, Carson Wentz, et al. speculation that's already begun – to prove he’s rehabilitated and ready for the role the franchise once envisioned for him after an offseason apprenticeship under Rodgers.

Jets defense: Five sacks and four takeaways from a unit that's perhaps always been the key to this team's fortunes anyway. We'll see how long they can sustain it a year after Wilson consistently put them in bad spots.

Jets’ super sophs: WR Garrett Wilson, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, didn’t have the numbers he might have had with Rodgers but made one of the sickest TD grabs – against two-time Pro Bowl CB Tre'Davious White – you’ll ever see. CB Sauce Gardner, the Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, was a primary factor in shutting down Buffalo’s offense. And RB Breece Hall had a huge night (10 carries, 127 yards) in his return from the knee injury that prematurely ended his bid for ROY honors last year.

Jets’ uniforms: The throwback “Legacy White” threads and best-ever "JETS" logo looked awesome, evoking memories of the famed 1980s New York Sack Exchange. (And, yes, they may have ultimately served an unwelcome reminder that the Jets just can’t have nice things.)

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman: ESPN’s broadcast tandem embarked on its 22nd season, the duo surpassing the record for booth longevity previously held by the legendary team of John Madden and Pat Summerall.

Jordan Whitehead: The safety picked off Allen three times, the first Jet with that kind of trifecta since Hall of Famer Ty Law 17 years ago. Whitehead swiped two passes in 2022, when no New York defender had more than three for the season.

Remainder of AFC East: With the Jets’ season already in serious jeopardy – at least given what Rodgers was projected to do for a club that owns the league’s longest playoff drought, one that dates to 2010 – you can be sure no tears are being shed in Buffalo, Miami or New England. That entire trio is more than capable of relegating Rodgers-less New York to yet another last-place finish.

Aaron Rodgers: NFL rules can be funny, and “AR8” got credit for the win in his Jets debut, simply by virtue of the fact he started the game. It was his 10th consecutive MNF victory, one shy of Hall of Famer’s Kenny Stabler’s all-time streak.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.