Aaron Rodgers wants to hear a different tune out of Broadway Joe.
The injured Jets quarterback wants Namath to throw his support behind Zach Wilson instead of ripping him while the former No. 2 pick struggles while trying to replace Rodgers.
“I said to (the team) in the preseason, our toughest task is handling success and that’s whether we’ve having success or not having success. That doesn’t mean you’re winning all the time and got to handle it the right way,” Rodgers said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show. “When we’re not having success, how do we respond? How do we respond to adversity?
“And that goes to our fan base and former players as well. You’re not helping the cause. You’re not helping the cause.”
Namath ripped Wilson during and after Sunday’s disappointing 15-10 home loss to the Patriots that featured yet another poor performance from the former BYU product.
Wilson completed 18-of-36 passes for 157 yards in the loss, and the Jets have scored a total of 20 points spanning his first two starts.
Like most of the fan base, the Hall-of-Fame quarterback is done with Wilson.
“Send him to Kansas City to back up against somebody like [Patrick] Mahomes and maybe learn something. I wouldn’t keep him,” Namath said Monday on “The Michael Kay Show.” “I’ve seen enough of Zach Wilson, all right? I’ve seen enough. Has quick feet, can throw a little bit, but I don’t believe what’s going on up there.”
Rodgers prefers a more positive outlook, although he acknowledged the Jets needed to win that game considering how well the defense played.
“We have to understand the importance of manifestation in what we’re putting out in the world. We also have to be realistic as well. We’re not living in this rose-colored glass world. We’re 1-2. Been a couple rough ones,” Rodgers said. “But let’s stay behind our guys. Let’s support our guys, let’s support the boys on the field and stick with our guys and have a little belief.
“Because as we saw this weekend, anybody can beat anybody. I’ve already seen we’re almost double-digit underdogs at home against Kansas City and they’re coming off a beatdown of Chicago and blah, blah, blah, but it’s a home game, it’s ‘Sunday Night Football,’ it’s an opportunity for us to go out there and show what we’re all about and I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for our boys and I’d like to see everybody stick together – our fan base, our former players and our current players because (there’s) too much negativity and the world is crashing down after three weeks.
“It’s a long season, lot of time, lot of things that can happen.”
Rodgers said Wilson needs to block out the outside noise heading into a daunting matchup against the defending Super Bowl champions.
The Chiefs are massive 9.5-point road favorites at FanDuel for the Week 4 primetime matchup.
“Obviously, you are going to hear about it,” Rodgers said of calls for Wilson to be replaced or benched. “Someone is going to text you something and you might see some of the conversation about it.
“When you’re riding high, you can’t get into it too much, just like when it feels the whole world is crashing down on you, you can’t get too wrapped up in that.”
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