The highly-anticipated Aaron Rodgers vs. Tua Tagovailoa matchups never happened last season after the four-time NFL MVP suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
But Miami will finally get a crack at Rodgers when the Jets (3-9) come to Hard Rock Stadium to play a Dolphins (5-7) team fighting for their playoff lives.
“Quite a few histories with Aaron Rodgers,” Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell said on Thursday. “We used to train together for a while, so I know him personally.
“He also went to junior college with my brother, so I remember when my brother was in college he was like, ‘Man, we got this guy. He’s an NFL player,’ and I’m like, ‘At Butte Junior College? Come on, man. What?’ Turned out to be Aaron Rodgers, so he probably could be a scout because he knew what he was looking at.
“Then competing against him on the field, I’ve probably played against him, I don’t know how many times, it’s a big handful. I feel like it’s been kind of back and forth, of course, but there’s definitely a couple games that stand out. I did get to him three times one game, so that was kind of nice.”
When the schedule was released in May, many thought the Jets and Dolphins would compete for one of the seven playoff spots in the AFC. But not only has Gang Green massively underachieved from the offseason Super Bowl contender chatter, but Rodgers is no longer one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
In 12 games, Rodgers has passed for 2,627 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions and is in the midst of arguably his worst season as a starting quarterback. There were rumors that Rodgers could be benched following the Jets’ 26-21 loss to the Seahawks last Sunday. In that game, Rodgers completed 21-of-39 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
However, Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich announced that Rodgers would start against the Dolphins and he would be his quarterback for the team’s final five games.
Rodgers has struggled with accuracy and mobility as he has dealt with ankle, hamstring and knee injuries for most of the season. He wasn’t on last week’s injury report for the first time since before the Jets’ Week 5 loss to the Vikings.
“A lot of respect to Aaron and what he’s done throughout the course of his years playing at Green Bay,” Tagovailoa said. “Obviously, we got to play against him two years ago, and he’s a Hall of Famer. Whether he looks like the same way he did in years past or not, you’re just going up against greatness regardless.
“The mindset that he has and to be able to still play at his age is really remarkable, and I’ve got a lot of respect for his game with how he goes about his business and how he does his things. I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
With all the uncertainty surrounding the front office, these five games not only could be it for Rodgers in a Jets uniform but maybe also the final five games of his career. Rodgers’ relationship with Jets owner Woody Johnson has come under a microscope recently after reports of Johnson suggesting benching Rodgers following the Week 4 loss to the Broncos.
With a loss Sunday, the Jets will be officially eliminated from playoff contention for the 14th consecutive season. But Rodgers wants to keep playing no matter what the Jets record is.
“That’s what you do when you’re a professional,” Rodgers said. “The most important ability you can have is availability, which I wasn’t available last year, so I’d love to play the games and I love playing football. I’m hyper-competitive and I love to be out there with the guys.”
Like Rodgers, Tagovailoa also had his fair share of adversity during the 2024 season. He missed four games and landed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion while attempting to scramble for a first down in a Week 2 game against Buffalo.
In Tagovailoa’s absence, the Dolphins struggled offensively and averaged 10 points per game during those four games. During that stretch, Miami played three quarterbacks: Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and veteran Tyler Huntley.
After Tagovailoa’s return, the Dolphins have a 3-3 record and are clinging to playoff hopes. Following their loss to the Packers on Thanksgiving, the Dolphins will likely need to win out to make the postseason.
Naturally, Tagovailoa feels like this season would have been different if he hadn’t suffered the concussion.
“Nobody else will say it but me, and I feel like this has a lot to do with myself obviously putting myself in harm’s way in the second game,” Tagovailoa said. “Going down, basically leaving my guys out to dry, that’s what I would say. Anyone can have an opinion about, ‘It’s football. It’s this, it’s that.’ I do take heart to that as well and still don’t want to do that to my guys again.”