Why Aaron Rodgers is The King of The ‘Free Play’

While the New York Jets had trouble getting going as an offense in their Week 1 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers , it’s clear that Aaron Rodgers still has some good football left in him.

Rodgers managed to throw his first touchdown as a Jet on a 36-yard pass to Allen Lazard. The touchdown came on a free play, after Rodgers drew a 49ers player offsides.

Rodgers and Lazard have connected plenty of times before, back with the Green Bay Packers , and it had to feel good for Rodgers to throw a TD pass on one of his specialties, the free play.

What is the ‘Free Play’?

A ‘free play’ describes when the defense jumps offside

The ‘free play’ in football comes when the defense jumps offsides, which gives the offense a chance to run any play they want, and not have to worry about a turnover or loss of yardage, because the defense will be penalized five yards, regardless of the play’s outcome.

No turnover or sack will be upheld, so the offense can take advantage of that and take a shot deep down the field.

Rodgers Has Mastered The ‘Free Play’

The four-time MVP has some incredible stats in the situation.

Rodgers is by far the most experienced of any quarterback in the NFL. The next closest to Rodgers in terms of experience is his old division rival Matthew Stafford , who turned 36 this year.

After Rodgers converted on the free play to Lazard, the ESPN broadcast revealed some eye-opening stats on a graphic.

In a 2019 article published on NFL.com, the in-depth piece went into just how prolific Rodgers has been in his career when he has a free play.

Back to the Monday night game itself, Rodgers and the Jets’ offense didn’t exactly live up to the hype going into the season in Week 1, after the Jets added some key pieces on offense this offseason.

Down 32-13 in the 4th quarter, Rodgers was pulled from the game. Tyrod Taylor managed to throw a TD pass in garbage time to Lazard, who caught his second of the night, for a final tally of 32-19 in favor of the Niners.

The Jets will try to regroup in Week 2, when Gang Green travels to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans .