Jets and Aaron Rodgers display tantalizing glimpse of what could be

This is what happens when you force a flock of famished football fans to wait 54 weeks to let themselves breathe.This was the second half of the roar that had started 374 days earlier, when Aaron Rodgers sprinted onto the field at MetLife Stadium, an American flag in his hands.There were 83,345 people there that night, and they were whipped into a frenzy.

MetLife Stadium had never felt that electric.Maybe it was louder on the Christmas Eve afternoon when Eli Manning found Victor Cruz for 99 yards, but that was cause-and-effect.

Sept.11, 2023, had been all about build-up.

All about crescendo.Then, all about silence.Four snaps into the season, someone kicked a plug out of the wall.It took until last night to turn the power back on.

There were 80,812 of them this time.Finally, they got a chance to roar.

Finally they got a chance to snarl.And the Jets gave them 60 solid minutes to do just that.

It ended 24-3, and it was every bit as sound a beating as the score indicates.“I love the hollering, I love the yelling,” said defensive end Will McDonald IV, two more sacks on the night, one tackle for a loss, part of an ensemble of defensive ferocity that Pats quarterback Jacoby Brissett will see in his sleep all weekend.“I love hearing it.

We do it for them.”The Jets scored three more touchdowns Thursday night, third game in a row they’d scored that many, and they hadn’t done that since … (checks watch) … 1989.They hadn’t beaten the Patriots this soundly since … (checks watch again) … 1998, which was two years before the Pats hired the Jets’ defensive coordinator for that 31-10 win, a fellow named Bill Belichick.So if this is starting to feel like something other, like something different, it’s because it is.

Opening night in San Francisco suddenly seems like a long time ago — even if it was only 11 days.The Week 2 escape in Nashville suddenly feels almost quaint.

The Jets didn’t play a perfect game, but it sure felt perfect, felt like a ...