Aaron Rodgers found a familiar face for his first home TD as a Jet.
Allen Lazard, who looks rejuvenated with Rodgers healthy, caught a screen and ran 10 yards for a score in the first quarter of Thursday night's 24-3 win over the Patriots.
Instead of celebrating, Lazard immediately ran over to Rodgers to hand him the ball as a memento, a symbolic moment to contrast the quarterback’s final appearance at MetLife, when he tore his Achilles and Gang Green’s season detonated on the fourth snap of Game 1 in 2023.
Lazard was a disaster last season without Rodgers.
He had just 23 receptions on 49 targets for 311 yards, a sharp drop from his previous seasons with the Packers, where Rodgers was under center.
Lazard, who joined the Jets on a four-year, $44 million contract that was seen as an appeasement to Rodgers, was even deactivated for the final two games of last season.
But as expected, he has played better for these Jets (2-1).
The 28-year-old already has three touchdowns, two more than last season.
His score on Friday was a funny sight because Lazard's compression shirt stretched about 8 yards behind him into the hand of New England CB Alex Austin, who missed the tackle but didn't let go of the white shirt.
It looked like Lazard had a giant tail.
He then had a 27-yard reception on the Jets' next drive, which ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Breece Hall to give Gang Green a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
Lazard finished with three receptions for 48 yards and the TD, while Rodgers was exquisite with 281 yards on 27 of 35 passes, two TDs and zero interceptions.
“Lazard has been in the league for a while. He’s been productive for a while,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said earlier this season. “His mindset and his current situation are a lot different than they were a year ago. … You can put him anywhere on the football field from a lineup standpoint, which gives us a lot of flexibility.”
After his TD connection on Thursday, Rodgers hugged Lazard, which was only noteworthy because the QB appeared to forcefully reject a hug from Saleh later in the game.
Lazard handed the ball to Rodgers and the message was “Rodgers’ first TD at MetLife.” It was another moment the former Packers could share.
And Lazard knows why he's better this season: the improvement over Zach Wilson.
“Aaron Rodgers,” he said last week. “Yeah, it’s pretty simple.”
