Life After Rodgers: New York Jets prepare for changes following Aaron Rodgers' injury

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The locker room was not muted.

A player walked by, wheeling his roll-away bag, and yelled, to no one in particular, “1-0, baby, let’s go." Garrett Wilson, still in uniform, walked up to the locker of fellow receiver Allen Lazard and embraced him in a hug. Team owner Woody Johnson − wearing all white and a chain with a pendant that read, simply, “WOODY” − congratulated players as they left.

The locker belonging to Aaron Rodgers, however, had been cleared out long before the New York Jets filed in to celebrate their come-from-behind overtime victory Monday night against the Buffalo Bills. He had left. The plastic chair was tucked neatly inside the stall, the three cubbies to the right lay empty and four clothes hangers were motionless and bare.

This is an unexpected reality the Jets may now have to confront: life without their prized offseason acquisition. On Tuesday, multiple reports revealed that Rodgers had suffered a season-ending torn Achilles, a debilitating turn for a squad that reloaded its offensive personnel with the hopes of snapping a 12-season postseason drought. Worse yet, it cast significant doubt over Super Bowl aspirations that had started to simmer after a promising offseason.

But a blueprint for how New York navigates Life After Rodgers may have manifested Monday night. The Jets rode their aggressive defense to four turnovers, five sacks and nine hits on Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen. Backup quarterback Zach Wilson self-corrected from earlier mistakes and delivered in the fourth quarter and overtime. And New York may have discovered its new offensive identity out of necessity.

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"We’re going to run the ball," running back Dalvin Cook told USA TODAY Sports. "We gon' run this ball, that’s what we’re going to do, man. We’ve still got a lot of stuff to clean up − just everything that's on the field. If Aaron do miss some time, we going to stand firm behind Zach and make some plays for him, but it’s gotta start with us on the ground.”

Running back Breece Hall made his return after a torn anterior cruciate ligament last season and ripped off a pair of explosive rushes, including an 83-yard carry in the second quarter that set up a field goal. Hall finished with 147 total yards on 11 touches.

Cook, who signed with the team in August, added 59 yards from scrimmage. The Jets averaged 6.1 yards per carry and outgained Buffalo on the ground by a margin of 172-97.

"Obviously, we tried to build this thing around No. 8, but I feel like with the pieces we have, we still got a really good team," Cook added. “This league is better with Aaron Rodgers in it. The ball rolls crazy sometimes."

While Zach Wilson was far from perfect, completing 14 of 21 passes for 140 yards with one touchdown and one interception, he appeared to settle as the game wore on. Wilson orchestrated a pair of drives in the fourth quarter that erased Buffalo’s lead and briefly gave New York a three-point advantage. One of those drives culminated with a back-shoulder throw − a Rodgers staple − that resulted with a juggling three-yard touchdown grab by Garrett Wilson.

"It changes a lot," Garrett Wilson told USA TODAY Sports of the Rodgers injury. "You have someone that has an impact on the locker room like that and obviously the off-field stuff speaks for itself, so it changes a lot. That’s the reality of it. We gotta adjust, but we’re 100% confident in Zach."

In particular, Zach Wilson will need to embrace efficient play, reduce turnovers and steady his footwork. The Jets will also not be able to leave points on the board as they did Monday night, converting only one of their three trips in the red zone into a touchdown.

"It’s going to have to take a recalibration," Lazard told USA TODAY Sports. "We’ve just got to persevere through those tough times and just stay focused. Sometimes the bigger picture can get lost sometimes if you try to focus on trying to make everything perfect. At the end of the day, Aaron wants to win, so the best thing we can do is pay homage to him by going out and playing hard and picking it up."

The most important element, though, in New York managing Rodgers' absence will fall on the defense. This is a unit that has the potential to ascend to the top of the league in most major categories. It already anchored last year’s team to seven victories despite the franchise's wildly inconsistent play at quarterback. Simply put, the Jets defense will need to set the tone for the rest of the team.

"Personally, I didn’t learn anything," Jets coach Robert Saleh said after the game. "I think we all know what we have in that locker room. I think we’ll continue to keep speaking with the way we play."