Aaron Rodgers throws shade at Jets rookie Malachi Corley for dropping ball before the endzone
Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets beat the Houston Texans 21-13 on Thursday Night Football to snap their five-game losing streak, improve to 3-6, and keep their dreams of a playoff berth alive.
The Jets' offense had a stellar second half as they scored a touchdown in each of their first three drives, a stunning turnaround after they went scoreless in the first half. However, they should've had at least six points before the halftime break.
Early in the second quarter, Rodgers and the offense embarked on a clinical drive and had seemingly found the endzone after rookie Malachi Corley found an open lane after a perfectly executed jet sweep. However, the wide receiver dropped the ball before breaking the plane and the ball rolled out of bounds, resulting in a touchback and a turnover.
Rodgers addressed Corley's gaffe in his post-game interview with the Amazon Prime Video crew and threw shade at the rookie. He said:
"I said we need to score 28-30 points. Tonight I’m counting 28. We scored 21 & we had another uhm… Ya know at the goal line."
Aaron Rodgers scolded Malachi Corley for mental error vs. Texans
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Aaron Rodgers revealed that the Jets discussed protecting the ball and finishing plays, especially at the goal line in the lead-up to their game against the Texans. He said:
"We get a little around-the-league analytics conversation, time management, clock management, things to do, things not to do presentation every week from our [situational coordinator Dan Shamash] and he showed the Kyle Pitts play, which I believe was last week.”
In the Atlanta Falcons' Week 8 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tight end Kyle Pitts had seemingly fumbled the ball at the goal line, but the officials controversially let the touchdown stand. The Buccaneers lost the game by 31-26.
Rodgers was also perplexed about Corley not bringing the ball back to the sideline as it was his first career touchdown and shared that he scolded the rookie about it. He said:
"Only thing I’d say to Malachi, and I said this on the sidelines, is ‘Why would you ever drop the ball? That was your first touchdown.’ You celebrate with that thing, you run to the sideline with that thing, and you give it to [the equipment manager] and say that, ‘This is mine.’ But listen, he was excited. It was a play that happened. It sucks. It’s disappointing. Nobody feels worse than he does, but it’s kind of a crazy thing.”
Fortunately, the unforced error did not cost the Jets the win, courtesy of an exceptional second-half display from the offense.