NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For the first time in 623 days, Aaron Rodgers walked off the field as the winning quarterback.

It wasn’t a productive game by any means, but Rodgers made a flawless fourth-quarter game-winning touchdown to help the New York Jets to a dramatic 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

Afterward, he savored the victory, from his great playmaking that led to three touchdowns to his altercation with Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who Rodgers called a “crybaby” during the game.

“It was awesome,” the 40-year-old Rodgers said of the win, which avoided the first 0-2 start of his 20-year career. “It’s been a long time coming.

“These are games that you look back on at the end of the season and are happy that you won them. Because if we want to be a great team, we have to win against a team like that in these circumstances.”

Rodgers won on Jan. 1, 2023, his second-to-last start with the Green Bay Packers. He was technically credited with the win in the Jets’ 2023 opener, even though he lasted only four snaps before tearing his left Achilles tendon. It was his first complete win with the Jets (1-1).

The four-time MVP was at his best in key moments, when he led a seven-play, 74-yard drive that ended with rookie running back Braelon Allen’s second touchdown, a 20-yard run with 4:31 left in the game that made it 24-17. Rodgers was 5 of 5 for 60 yards on the drive, including 26- and 19-yard completions to Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams, respectively.

“He’s like a conductor,” Allen said of Rodgers.

Tight end Tyler Conklin said, “Aaron was doing some Aaron stuff there.”

Coming off a nasty loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Jets were desperate for a win. Their defense, which lost defensive end Jermaine Johnson (Achilles) and linebacker C.J. Mosley (toe) in Sunday’s game, delivered a fourth-down stop in the final seconds to seal the victory.

Rodgers’ teammates and coach Robert Saleh cited his composure in the final minutes as one of the key factors.

“I mean, he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and he’s been producing for a long, long time,” Saleh said. “He’s seen it all. To have that kind of presence in the huddle, for a lot of guys who haven’t seen it all, it’s awesome.”

Rodgers (18-for-30) passed for just 176 yards, his 24th straight game under 300 yards — the longest drought of his career. But he threw two touchdowns, a 12-yard screen pass to Allen and a 26-yard pass to Breece Hall. It was the first time since 1994 that two different Jets running backs had scoring receptions in the same game.

Regarding Allen’s touchdown, Rodgers said he suggested the call to offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on the sideline — a pump fake to Hall, then a quick throw to Allen. The deception worked perfectly.

Rodgers said he and Hall made up the final score.

“I’ll tell you exactly how it went down,” Rodgers said. “I blew the clock and we called a timeout. Breece comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, throw me a go ball if there’s a ‘backer.’ I said, ‘OK.'”

Hall jumped wide to his right and was covered by linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr., which caught Rodgers’ attention and made the Titans pay.

“You know you’re going to win the game” with Rodgers, said Allen, 20, who became the youngest player to score an offensive touchdown since 1950. “I haven’t been around him in a while, but I’ve followed him for a long time. There’s nobody better in those situations than the last two decades.”

Allen grew up in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and watched Rodgers with the Packers, so it was a special moment for him to score the winning touchdown in Rodgers’ first victory as the Jets’ quarterback. Allen brushed off the praise, saying the gap was so big on his 20-yard run that “my grandma could probably score on that.” A pass play was called, but Rodgers said he checked for a run at the line.

Rodgers ended the day with a laugh with Simmons, who was given a costly penalty for roughing the passer.

“He was calling me names,” Rodgers said with a laugh, adding that after the penalty he shot back at Simmons with a “cry-baby comment.”