Antwan Staley: With dominant win, Aaron Rodgers & Jets putting new stamp on rivalry with Patriots

NEW YORK — The New England Patriots have tormented the New York Jets for most of the last quarter century.

Finally, it appears Gang Green is ready to put all those nightmares behind them.

The Jets came into Thursday night’s game knowing they were the better team and proved it in their 24-3 triumph over the hated Patriots.

“It’s only Week 3, buddy,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said when asked if the tide was turning in this AFC East rivalry.

Things have changed on both sides of the Jets-Patriots rivalry. Bill Belichick is gone, and Tom Brady is almost five years removed from his final game in New England. The Patriots are now rebuilding with Jerod Mayo as coach and Drake Maye as the quarterback of the future after selecting him third overall in April’s draft.

The Jets are now the team to beat with future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers and a defense expected to be among the best in the NFL in 2024.

In Belichick’s final game with the team last January, the season finale, the Jets took care of business and defeated the Patriots for the first time since December 2015, snapping a 15-game skid to their division rival in the process.

Fast-forward eight months, and the Jets showed the maturity to defeat a team they were better than on paper. The Jets traded for Rodgers not only to possibly contend for a Super Bowl championship but also to change the culture of their franchise.

At least on Thursday night, Rodgers’ play and the Jets’ defense set the tone for the entire game. The four-time NFL MVP had his best night in a Jets uniform, completing 27-of-35 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Jets smothered the Patriots’ offense, holding them to three points after recording seven sacks and holding the Patriots to 139 yards of total offense. Entering Thursday’s game, Jets players said they didn’t play up to their standard during the first two games after giving up an average of 155 yards on the ground rushing.

New England finished with 78 yards rushing the entire night and held Rhamondre Stevenson, who came into Week 3 fifth in the league in rushing, to 23 yards on six carries.

Leading up to the game, Rodgers said, “You need more than a couple games to put a stamp on a rivalry.” Although that is true, the Jets have won consecutive games against the Patriots for the first time since they won three straight in the series from 2000-01.

“Our last two games [against the Patriots], we expected to win,” Jets running back Breece Hall said. “We thought we had a better team, better talent and everything.

“I was happy we won, but our offense, we were still shooting ourselves in the foot in drives where we were getting across the 50 and we would get a holding or a false start or something that put us back. It was good, but it’s little stuff that is irritating.

“Just because you get the win, it’s like whatever. But when you go back and watch the film, we are like, we can’t do that, especially playing a better opponent because that stuff matters.”

From the moment Rodgers arrived, the Jets’ standard changed. They are no longer the “Same Old Jets.” Now, the expectation was for them to win and win at a high level.

“If the expectation is winning, then we’re going to celebrate it, but we should expect a win,” Rodgers said. “The next step is expecting to dominate.”

Now that the Jets have conquered their Patriots’ demons, they have a few more to conquer if they want to reach the promised land.

Among those is ending a 13-year playoff drought, which is currently the longest in North American sports. Also, the Jets would love to take the AFC East throne from the Bills and win a division title for the first time since 2002.

It’s only Week 3, though, and the Jets have a long way to go to achieve those goals. But the Jets needed a win like this simply for confidence, not just heading into next weekend’s game against the Broncos but also moving forward later in the season.

Maybe the Jets could even put a few new stamps on some of their divisional rivalries along the way.

“Consistency, the truest measure of performance,” Saleh said. “We’ll enjoy this one.

“Like I said, it’s well deserved. But come Monday, it’s on to Denver.”

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