Aaron Rodgers doubled down on the blame game Tuesday as he continued to tear into teammate Mike Williams.
The New York Jets failed to get off to a winning start under new head coach Jeff Ulbrich Monday night, slipping to 2-4 with a 23-20 defeat to the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium.
It was a tale of two halves for Rodgers, who threw a sensational 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass and had 294 yards, but also threw a costly late interception that ended any hopes of a late Jets victory.
The quarterback attempted to pick out Mike Williams around 50 yards downfield with just under two minutes on the clock, only for the wide receiver to slip before Taron Johnson picked him off.
Rodgers accused his teammates of ‘giving the game away’ following Monday’s defeat – their third on the bounce – but Jets fans criticized the four-time MVP on social media, with many convinced he had a better option available in Breece Hall.
Aaron Rodgers (left) continued to blast New York Jets teammate Mike Williams (right)
The wide receiver was picked off by Bills cornerback Taron Johnson with two minutes left
Despite the online criticism, Rodgers continued to blame Williams during his weekly guest appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday.
‘I think if you watch my press conferences, I start with myself when I make mistakes. “I’ve got to play better. I can’t make that throw. I can’t make that decision.” That’s the standard for everybody,’ the veteran said when asked about the play.
‘There were a lot of mistakes throughout the night but if you’re looking just at that play – and that’s what the question was – well it was two verticals to the right side and Mike needed to get right to the red line, which would have been a big gain.
‘So I wasn’t calling Mike out for anything but his responsibility and details on that play. I have a lot of love and respect for Mike. On that play, he wasn’t in the right spot. We should all be held to a standard.
‘I hold myself to a standard of greatness and when it hasn’t been there, which it hasn’t at certain times, I’ve stood up there and said I’ve got to play better. Hopefully that’s an example for everyone else.’
After Monday’s defeat, Rodgers placed the blame on his team’s ‘terrible’ failings on the field.
Rodgers called for Williams to hold himself accountable for the play following the defeat
He admitted there was now ‘concern’ about their prospects this season, with New York now 2-4, but insisted ‘that’s important. We need to get going’.
Rodgers said: ‘This was a golden opportunity. Some games you win in the NFL, some games you give away. This was a giveaway.
‘We were terrible in the red zone. We missed two field goals, we didn’t convert on a two-minute drive.
‘We had plenty of chances. We had the momentum. We had good drives, we moved the ball up and down the field, so (it’s) disappointing.’
But replays showed that Hall was in acres of space to his right just before he launched the ball to Williams, a pass which could have earned a first down at a pivotal moment.
One user wrote on X: ‘Blame Mike Williams all you want, but Rodgers had Breece Hall with no one in the zipe code to the right.’
Rodgers failed to spot Breece Hall (top left) in acres of space before throwing an interception
‘Look at Breece Hall leak out,’ said another. ‘Nobody within 15 yards of him Rodgers got greedy, wanted to be the hero It was 4 down territory man’.
A third commented: ‘Aaron Rodgers suck. Why throw the long ball for Williams to catch. I could see a wide open Breece Hall.’
‘Blame Mike Williams, But What About Breece Hall?’ asked another. ‘While it’s easy to blame Mike Williams, let’s not forget that Aaron Rodgers had Breece Hall wide open with no defenders in sight. This raises questions about decision-making on the field.’
While one joked: ‘Imagine if Aaron Rodgers had drastically underthrown it even more and it landed in Breece Hall’s hands’.
