GoJo and Golic preview Aaron Rodgers’ Jets debut on Monday Night Football

The first NFL Sunday of the 2023 season is in the books and all that remains for Week 1 is the marquee matchup of Bills vs. Jets on Monday Night Football. Mike Golic Jr. and Mike Golic Sr. offered their thoughts on Monday’s edition of GoJo and Golic.

Mike Sr. called the Sunday night washout featuring the Giants and Cowboys, so he had a first-hand view of the stadium crew getting after it, scraping the stench of the Giants’ blue off the field so they could apply the Jets’ green. And perhaps the Giants fans will be green with envy, as Aaron Rodgers makes his Jets debut tonight with everyone eager to see what Aaron can do with this Jets’ offense.

GoJo notes that the Bills are 2-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, and says that it feels like the stakes might be a little higher after seeing Sunday’s performance from Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins. So what are the expectations for the Jets and their fanbase?

Mike Sr. says he knows the offense will be better with Rodgers under center, but he still thinks the Jets will be led by the defense. He notes that the Bucs would never have gotten to the Super Bowl, even with Tom Brady in tow, were it not for their defense. Senior said he thinks this Jets defense will be right up there with the best in the league, although he does seek to splash a little cold water on some who have already looked to call the unit “historic.” Let’s do it on the field and not talk about it, Senior says. That said, this unit will be what keeps the Jets in every game this season and gives Rodgers the chance to show something, Mike Sr. says.

Given Breece Hall’s ongoing recovery from his ACL injury, Senior thinks it was a strong move to pick up Dalvin Cook to give Rodgers another offensive weapon. He does think that there could be questions on the offensive line tonight when it comes to run blocking and protecting Rodgers. Mike Jr. agrees that the matchup between the Bills’ defensive line vs. the Jets’ offensive line will be one to watch, and wonders if this represents a hospitable landing spot for this Jets’ o-line.

GoJo points out that there hasn’t been a ton of talk about Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense of late, noting that after Allen’s elbow injury, the offense devolved a bit even if it remained incredibly productive. He highlights the draft addition of Dalton Kincaid out of Utah and wonders if the Bills will look to utilize a multi-tight end set, as so many other NFL teams have, to help neutralize a Jets front four that looks like it will be stifling.

Senior wonders if part of the reason we haven’t talked more about the Bills is because more AFC teams are catching up to Buffalo rather than the Bills staying ahead of other teams. GoJo points out that a Buffalo win in prime time to spoil Rodgers’ debut, especially paired with Kansas City and Cincinnati losses in Week 1, would go a long way toward cementing their elite-tier status, even with increased competition in their division and conference. Senior points out that people are getting more excited about other AFC teams because the Bills haven’t been able to get over the proverbial hump, while GoJo notes that the public often gets bored with people being very good and start to look for the next shiny toy, and the AFC looks to be full of shiny new toys this season.

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Hour 1: NFL Week 1 Recap — Cowboys embarrass Giants, Browns lock up Burrow’s Bengals, MIKE’D UP MONDAY + Texas upsets Alabama and the ALL-WEEKEND Team

• Fresh off of Sunday Night Football’s shocking snoozer, GoJo, Golic, and Jessie are back to recap a weekend full of football. (00:50) Let’s start with the Dallas Cowboys 40-0 win over the NY Giants on SNF game. Golic tells us what it was like calling such a lopsided game in the pouring rain. GoJo sympathizes with Daniel Jones who was sacked 7 times last night, but calls Giants fans “sick” who stayed past the 3rd Quarter of this very wet blowout. (15:40) GoJo and Golic look at another shocking result in the Battle for Ohio as a struggling Deshaun Watson led the Browns to yet another win over Joe Burrow and the Bengals. (19:56) MIKE’D UP Monday presented by Wrangler: Jessie helps the guys react to Saints’ Head Coach Dennis Allen telling his team he expected to beat Mike Vrabel and the Titans, Jordan Love throwing for 3 touchdowns against the Bears as the Packers move to 1-0 in their post-Aaron Rodgers era, and Sean McVay’s comments on Matt Stafford after the Rams upset the Seahawks. (30:08) It’s official. The ‘backness’ of Texas was verified Saturday night in Tuscaloosa after Texas beat Alabama 34-24. Gojo describes what it was like calling the game and why this win means so much for Texas in their last year before joining the SEC. (39:55) Between Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic winning the US Open, College Football’s weekend of Thicc Six excellence and Desmond Howard resurrecting the folding chair for his GameDay pick, Gojo and Golic reveal their ALL-WEEKEND team to wrap up Hour 1.

Hour 2: Rookie QBs’ NFL debut, MNF Preview: Aaron Rodgers’ Jets vs Josh Allen’s Bills, Baker Mayfield’s Bucs debut, and a Legend Breaks Guitar Hero World Record

• Rookie QBs’ NFL debut, MNF Preview: Aaron Rodgers’ Jets vs Josh Allen’s Bills, Baker Mayfield’s Bucs debut, and a Legend Breaks Guitar Hero World Record

VIDEO:

Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show will also be available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.

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