Jets QB Aaron Rodgers accuses Giants’ Jihad Ward of ‘making s--- up’ in beef
NEW YORK — The Jets and Giants don’t play each other until Week 8.
But the rivalry between the teams has gotten spicy following their preseason matchup against each other last weekend.
Following Giants edge rusher Jihad Ward’s comments on Wednesday saying he shoved Aaron Rodgers because of “some sucker s---,” it was the four-time MVP’s turn to respond on Thursday during a sit-down interview with local Jets reporters.
Ward thought Rodgers and his Jets teammates were laughing after Randall Cobb’s illegal block gave Giants safety Bobby McCain a concussion, but the four-time NFL MVP said that wasn’t the case.
“So he thought we were laughing at his teammate?” Rodgers said. “That never happened and I think he’s making s--- up.
“But I don’t care.”
The beef between Rodgers and Ward began during the team’s preseason finale. After Cobb’s blindside hit against McCain, Ward shoved Rodgers late and Rodgers pushed him back in anger.
“That’s f------ bulls---, bro,” Rodgers said. “What the f--- is that? Show some respect.”
Then Rodgers proceeded to say that he didn’t know who Ward was and Ward said he didn’t know who Rodgers was, either. Not long after that, Rodgers completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson and he told Ward after the play was over, “Don’t poke the bear.”
The entire segment was documented in the latest edition of “Hard Knocks.” On the episode, Rodgers joked about Cobb’s blindside hit on McCain, but they didn’t make fun of the safety’s injury.
Not happy with how he was portrayed in the episode, Ward fired back when he spoke to Giants reporters on Wednesday.
“There’s a reason why I acted like that [in] the first place,” Ward said. “There’s a reason why I shoved him like I did. The reason why is because I don’t let none of my motherf-----’ teammates get knocked over, you know what I’m sayin’?
“And Randall — what’s his name, Randall Cobb? — he knew what he did,” Ward continued. “That was some cheap s---. But it’s like, if I see anything on the field, I gotta do what I gotta do. This ain’t no rah-rah this, that and a third. I don’t do all this internet stuff. I’m gonna let them have it.”
“That was some sucker s--- that Randall Cobb and Aaron Rodgers did. And I’m stamping on that. I ain’t hiding from nothing. So you could laugh now, cry later. … They know what they did, and they [were] laughing and all that stuff. And I was the only one that was sticking up for him.”
The Jets and Giants play each other on Oct. 29. This offseason, the Jets have been the media darling since acquiring Rodgers from the Packers.
Many television pundits believe the Jets will end their 12-year playoff drought and could be Super Bowl contenders. Despite making the playoffs and advancing to the NFC Divisional Round, the Giants haven’t received the same attention entering the season.
Rodgers says he’s ignoring the Jets’ haters who are praying for their downfall.
“I don’t give it a whole lot of energy,” Rodgers said. “I don’t watch any of the shows. We’ve gotten a lot of attention before we got Hard Knocks.
“There’s some jealousy for sure. There’s a lot of people either jumping on the bandwagon or jumping on the other side.”
