‘Animated’ Shannon Sharpe verbally attacks Dan Orlovsky for not calling Aaron Rodgers out after Jets’ miserable loss to Vikings
Aaron Rodgers dropped his second international game, losing to the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Shannon Sharpe(L); Dan Orlovsky (R), Aaron Rodgers (middle) (Images via Imago)
The Minnesota Vikings claimed a 23-17 win in London and denied Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets a thrilling comeback victory. The Vikings continued their unbeaten run with five wins through five games while the Jets succumbed to a second consecutive loss and fell to 2-3.
The Vikings QB Sam Darnold completed his redemption arc, clearing off the Jets who let him off in 2020 after drafting him third overall in 2018. Darnold, however, had admitted that he had a lot of opportunities in New York, in a press conference ahead of the game.
Meanwhile, Rodgers threw three interceptions on the other end of the field in a visibly poor performance. The latter suffered a similar fate in London in his second career international game as his first one – a loss.
The Vikings cruised to a 17-0 lead in the beginning before Rodgers and the Jets scored a TD in the dying minutes of the second quarter. The Jets came to 20-17 before Will Reichard scored a field goal to make it 23-17. Rodgers attempted a late TD in the final minutes before he was intercepted, for the third time, drawing the ire of fans and, well, Shannon Sharpe.
Appearing on the First Take, Sharpe took offense at fellow panelist Dan Orlovsky, who blamed the Jets’ offense. A furious Sharpe ripped into Orlovsky for not blaming Rodgers, whom Sharpe thinks is the reason behind the Jets’ failure.
You didn’t blame the offense when they had those other quarterbacks, you blamed the quarterback! But you wanna stay in good graces and you won’t call Aaron Rodgers out! He’s playing awful. I know it. Everybody in New York knows it. Everyone in the NFL knows it. He played terrible.
Shannon Sharpe said
Orlovsky later clarified that he never blamed the quarterback but for the situation. He further highlighted that he believed that an offense has to play a certain way if they are to defeat a team like the Minnesota Vikings.
The former Lions QB also pointed out that he is not gonna call out a four-time MVP quarterback when he was only a backup on national television.
"You didn't blame the offense when they had those other quarterbacks, you blamed the quarterback! But you wanna stay in good graces and you won't call Aaron Rodgers out!" Shannon Sharpe to Dan Orlovsky pic.twitter.com/v5qXYrznn8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 7, 2024
Stephen A Smith backs up Shannon Sharpe’s criticism of Aaron Rodgers
The veteran analyst Stephen A. Smith intervened as the discussions between Orlovsky and Sharpe got heated. Smith acknowledged Orlovsky’s stance while also including that their job is to research metrics, analyze, and ‘judge’. Earlier, Smith had said that he doesn’t have the same faith in the Jets as before after the Broncos’ loss.
Smith backed up Sharpe’s comments on Rodgers’ metrics, including the interceptions and incompletion rates. He added that Rodgers was supposed to make the Jets better, to make a huge difference. Smith, although admitted that Rodgers has been an upgrade from Zach Wilson and other in-between QBs, said that the Vikings game was the worst performance from Rodgers in years.
Coming into this season with the New York Jets, we all know that Aaron Rogers was supposed to make a huge difference. He has come up flagrantly soft. That’s the worst game I’ve seen Aaron Rogers play in years yesterday. I couldn’t believe it.
Stephen A. Smith said
The Jets will be put to the test once again as they face the Buffalo Bills, who lost to Houston Texans in the dying minutes, no thanks to HC Sean McDermott‘s calls. Rodgers, despite suffering a low ankle sprain, will be expected to play.
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Mohammed Bazim
(425 Articles Published)