Reaction from Jets, Bills to play that likely ended Aaron Rodgers' season - ESPN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Shortly after 8 p.m. ET, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers emerged from the tunnel waving an American flag — the last player introduced before a raucous crowd of 83,000 at MetLife Stadium. The building looked like a giant nightclub, with a machine pumping smoke into the air and fans waving green LED lights.

This was supposed to be the start of a special season, with Rodgers — a future Hall of Famer — lifting the star-crossed franchise to new heights.

Twenty-five minutes later, he was helped off the field by two members of the Jets' medical team. Just like that, the Super Bowl dream had been severely compromised. It happened only 4:04 into the game — 244 seconds. It happened on the Jets' fourth snap.

On the fateful play, Rodgers was twisted into the ground on a sack by Buffalo Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd, suffering what the team fears is a significant Achilles injury. Afterward, coach Robert Saleh said the Jets expect an MRI Tuesday to confirm their worst fears.

After five months of buildup and breathless hype, it appears to have ended before he could complete a pass.

For the Jets, who have a tortured history of quarterback calamities, this was eerily reminiscent of the 1999 opener. With Super Bowl aspirations that year, quarterback Vinny Testaverde suffered a season-ending Achilles rupture in the second quarter. They finished 8-8.

Testaverde was in attendance Monday night as an honorary captain. He watched as a guest in owner Woody Johnson's private box.

«Seeing Aaron get hurt definitely brought back some bad memories,» Testaverde said in a text to ESPN during the game. «Hopefully, it's not a serious injury.»

Boomer Esiason, another former Jets quarterback who has witnessed his share