Aaron Rodgers to begin second season with Jets on ‘MNF’ against 49ers

Aaron Rodgers‘ second season with the New York Jets will begin with a similar setup to how his first season with the team started.

The star quarterback and Gang Green will head West in Week 1 to take on the San Francisco 49ers in the first “Monday Night Football” game of the season. It marks the second straight year that the Jets will play on “Monday Night Football” to open the season, with Rodgers making his Jets debut in the prime-time game last season.

Of course, Rodgers’ debut and first season with the Jets didn’t last long. He tore his Achilles tendon on his fourth snap with the team, ending his season before it could ever get going. The Jets went on to beat the Buffalo Bills in overtime behind Xavier Gipson’s game-winning 65-yard punt return touchdown, but they wound up finishing the year 7-10.

Even though Rodgers is coming off an Achilles tear and is now 40 years old, there’s just as much hope in New York that the Jets can end their playoff drought as there was at the start of last season. New York solidified its offensive line during the offseason, which many blamed for Rodgers’ early injury. It added veteran offensive tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses before selecting Olu Fashanu with the 10th overall pick.

The Jets made a few other notable additions to their offense, signing wide receiver Mike Williams in free agency to pair with Garrett Wilson. They also drafted wide receiver Malachi Corley in the third round and running back Braelon Allen in the fourth round. On the other side of the ball, they traded for edge rusher Haason Reddick, adding him to a defense that’s been one of the best in football for the last couple of seasons.

As for the Jets’ opponent in Week 1, the 49ers begin their quest to repeat as NFC champions as they finally seek to get over the hump in 2024. The 49ers were just one defensive stop away from winning their first Super Bowl under Kyle Shanahan, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime. They’re seeking to become the first team to make it back to the Super Bowl after losing in the year prior since the 2018 New England Patriots.

San Francisco largely returns the same core that helped it reach the Super Bowl last season. The most notable add the 49ers made in the offseason was signing edge rusher Leonard Floyd. Floyd was the man who sacked Rodgers on the play that ended his 2023 season, adding to the intriguing plot of the Week 1 matchup.

Rodgers has also developed a bit of a personal rivalry with his hometown team over the years, as they passed on him with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, selecting Alex Smith instead. Rodgers, who went No. 24 overall to the Green Bay Packers that year, has gone 6-7 against the 49ers all time.

The 49ers opened up as 6.5-point favorites in the Week 1 matchup on FanDuel Sportsbook. The point total also opened up at 45.5.

Do Aaron Rodgers and the Jets have to win the AFC East this season?

Rodgers’ return to the field is one of a handful of games that have already been announced ahead of the NFL’s full schedule release for the 2024 season. The regular season will begin with the Baltimore Ravens taking on the Chiefs. A day later, the Packers and Philadelphia Eagles will meet in the NFL’s first game in Brazil. Tom Brady will make his FOX Sports debut on that Sunday, calling the matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. It was also announced Tuesday that the Chiefs will take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.