With Aaron Rodgers out, Jets have no choice but to make it work with Zach Wilson

This isn’t a video game. If it was, Robert Saleh would have turned off injuries before the Jets kicked off, or restarted it all after his team’s fourth offensive snap against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.

You can’t simply take a quarterback off the street, throw him into a scheme he’s never been a part of before, and expect, in a matter of days, for that player to function. That’s not how it works. That’s not how it ever worked.

So there’s really only one way for the Jets to replace Aaron Rodgers: And he’s the one who stepped in for him the moment the Hall of Famer went down.

“Zach (Wilson) is our quarterback,” Saleh said on Tuesday. “This is Zach’s team and we’re rolling with Zach.”

Indeed they are.

The real question is if the Jets can consistently make it work with him.

Coaches, teammates and management will all say the right things about Wilson in the coming days. Saleh already started on his conference call after confirming Rodgers’ torn Achilles. He stressed how “excited” the Jets are about Wilson given this opportunity. He said “everything” about him is so much different from a year ago. He lamented the “drastic” improvements he made both on and off the field.

Maybe he’s right. The Jets do genuinely believe it. Or, maybe, Wilson is very much still the quarterback whom the Jets said — on more than one occasion over the last four months — would salvage his career only by sitting, watching and learning. They did not want him to play this year. He’s only playing because they’re forced to. They have to. Because there is not a functional alternative.

It’s on the Jets to find a way to make it work with Wilson — whether he’s better, worse or about the same.

The Jets will add a quarterback in the coming days. They have to. That player will replace Tim Boyle on the practice squad, who’s elevated to backup now with Wilson the starter. This player is not being brought in to begin a competition with Wilson, though, Saleh said. Partially because there’s no one out there to do that.

If a Pro Bowl or starting caliber player was there with experience in Nathaniel Hackett’s offense, Woody’s helicopter would be landing on his front lawn. He does not exist. Carson Wentz, Colt McCoy, Nick Foles and Joe Flacco highlight (if you can call it that) the list of available free agents. Matt Ryan is there, too, but spent last weekend in the broadcast booth. The top options on the trade market include Jameis Winston and Gardner Minshew.

There is a chance one of the above would allow the Jets to open the playbook more. It’s pointless to rehash how poorly Wilson played last season. Statistically, he was better in place of Rodgers, completing 66.7 percent of his passes (14-of-21) with an 81.4 QB rating. But he threw for just 140 yards. He tossed an interception right to Matt Milano. His touchdown to Garrett Wilson was a ball that’s likely an interception, too, if not for Wilson’s heroics.

The Jets did what they could to keep the game out of Wilson’s hands. At times it felt they did not want him to throw it. Wilson did not attempt a single pass beyond 20 yards. All but five of his attempts were under 10 yards.

So, yes, maybe Wentz or Winston or Ryan could do more, but first they would need to learn Hackett’s scheme. That’s hardly for the faint of heart. Best case that takes weeks. More likely it takes months. It simply makes more sense for the Jets to try to do it with what they already have.

Monday night it became clear what the offense under Wilson will look like: Rely on Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook on the ground. They’ll target Wilson and Allen Lazard just behind the line of scrimmage. They’ll sacrifice the big play through the air to not make the back-breaking bad one. They will rely on their defense and special teams to not only keep them in games, but help them win them.

Basically, the same script that led them to an upset victory over the Bills.

The Jets drove Josh Allen mad under the lights — becoming a trend in recent meetings. They sacked him five times and forced four turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble). The offense did just enough to keep New York in it, matching Buffalo’s 16 points. Then, in overtime, rookie Xavier Gipson took a punt back 65 yards for the walk-off victory.

Is that sustainable? Potentially. The Chicago Bears reached a Super Bowl with a similar blueprint. Now that’s what the Jets must do, too.

“I don’t know why people are trying to put an obituary on our team name,” Saleh said.

It’s likely because the Jets spent this offseason labeling Rodgers as a messiah. Woody Johnson said quarterback was his team’s missing piece. They went out and acquired Rodgers. Then, over the ensuing months, never passed up an opportunity to talk about how great he was, the impact he had on their team, or the fact they could not believe he was theirs.

On multiple occasions during training camp, Saleh came to the podium and, unprecedented, highlighted Rodgers’ greatness. GM Joe Douglas said at his pre-season press conference that he sits back in disbelief that Rodgers is his. This season of "Hard Knocks" was nothing more than an Ode to No. 8.

Now, that player is gone before completing a single pass. If the Jets want to reach the same heights they’ll need to do it by playing a player they themselves said would benefit only by not playing. It’s not an ideal situation. Not even close.

But it’s the Jets' reality.

There’s no alternate version.

They have one option — it’s their only option.

Find a way to make it work with No. 2.