On Sunday, the Tennessee Titans fell to the New York Jets in their 2024 home opener. It marked the second loss in as many games for the Titans, with many of the same mistakes being the cause. It was a frustrating game to watch even though the outcome was unsurprising.
The Titans’ defense continued to shine on Sunday, but apparently defensive end Jeffery Simmons called Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers some not-nice names on the field.
“Yeah, he started that,” Rodgers said, via the Washington Post. “He was calling me some mean names out there, calling me crybaby a few times. … I called him a crybaby back after he had the [roughing-the-passer] call. And then we had a couple laughs after the game.”
It’s not surprising that there was name-calling and banter on the field; it’s quite common for players to do that during a game. The competitive spirit brings out the best (and worst) in all of us.
But these so-called “mean” names were clearly taken in jest by Rodgers. It’s Simmons’ job to do whatever he can to make the quarterback screw up. That’s not an easy task when the quarterback is a future Hall of Famer. But all that trash-talk was in good fun, the two shook hands and joked after the game and, as Rodgers said, “All is well.”
Simmons recorded five tackles against the Jets and 1.5 stuffs. Over both games, he has seven tackles (four solo) and three stuffs. His presence is always more impactful than his stat line, and apparently that also includes trash-talking the opposing quarterback.