Jets' Saleh: Aaron Rodgers Healthy at 0-1 is Better Than Being 1-0 with QB Injured

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh expressed his belief Tuesday that his team feels like it is in a better spot now than it was at the same time last year despite a season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Last season, the Jets won their season opener over the Buffalo Bills in overtime, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles tear during their first offensive series.

Although the Jets largely struggled on both sides of the ball Monday night, Rodgers came out of the game healthy, and Saleh said, "You know what? Unfortunately, it does," when asked Tuesday if things feel better through one game this season than last, per ESPN's Rich Cimini.

The 1-0 start didn't do the Jets much good last season, as they dealt with mediocre quarterback play from Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian, and ended up finishing 7-10 and missing the playoffs for a 13th consecutive year.

Going on the road to face the reigning NFC champions was always going to be a challenge for the Jets, but additional circumstances perhaps made it an even tougher game.

Chief among them was the fact that Rodgers was playing in his first game since tearing his Achilles at 40 years old, which is an unprecedented injury to come back from at his age.

Rodgers completed 13 of his 21 passing attempts for 167 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while also getting sacked once. That type of production was a far cry from the games he routinely had during his time with the Green Bay Packers.

When the Jets acquired Rodgers from Green Bay, they got a four-time NFL MVP and one-time Super Bowl champion who was supposed to finally help get the Jets out of the doldrums.

He may still be the guy to make that happen, but doing it coming off an Achilles tear will make it a far greater challenge.

Despite Rodgers having a mediocre first game of the season, Saleh suggested that he isn't concerned about his star quarterback moving forward, saying: "I think our offense is in a really good place. I thought it was a good first outing in terms of the quarterback hadn't played in so long. But there was a lot of encouraging things, and I know it's going to be a lot better once we balance out this team."

In fairness, the Jets' offensive struggles weren't solely on Rodgers' shoulders, as several of the players around him made some mistakes as well.

Running back Breece Hall lost a fumble on the team's second offensive series, wide receiver Allen Lazard dropped what would have been a third-down conversion in the early going and the offensive line had some breakdowns that saw pressure get to Rodgers quickly.

The Jets made several changes to their offensive line during the offseason after it struggled last season, and given that Rodgers' mobility may be compromised due to his Achilles, the O-line jelling and playing well together may be the biggest key to New York's success.

On Sunday, the Jets will have a big opportunity to move past their Week 1 loss when they go on the road to face the 0-1 Tennessee Titans.