Aaron Rodgers’ perfect homecoming worth wait for Jets and their fans

You can’t begin establishing a New York legacy until you get the roar of your home crowd exploding on your eardrum and reverberating through the stadium and the entire town.

When the love affair you imagined when you came to New York extended beyond running through the tunnel with an American flag on 9/11 and you are its quarterback from start to finish of this home opener, finally getting to bathe in one warm J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS! chorus after the next.

Welcome home, Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers crumpling to the ground with his torn Achilles four plays into his 2023 debut at MetLife was hell … for him, for the franchise, for the tortured fan base.

This — Jets 24, Patriots 3 — was heaven.

The stadium Aaron Rodgers calls JetLife.

Emerging from the darkness, just as he did.

Him fearing during his darkest hours that he would never be able to make it all the way back as much as he tried to manifest it into existence.

Them fearing that a 40-year-old with a rehabbed 40-year-old Achilles might not be their Savior.

“Aa-ron Rodgers … Aa-ron Rodgers … Aa-ron Rodgers.”

“It was a really special night. All those chants are really meaningful,” Rodgers said. “I was kinda hoping for a stop there to be able to take a final knee on the field, but … yeah, special night.”

There was Rodgers, back chasing his second Super Bowl championship, everyone born after Jan. 12, 1969 chasing their first Super Bowl at his side.

He was General Rodgers (27-35, 281 yards, 2 TDs).

He may have reminded some of MVP Rodgers.

“He was getting out of the pocket, looking real mobile, accuracy’s still there, power’s still there. If you ask me, he got some more years in him,” Sauce Gardner told The Post. “I think he got more than a couple of years in him. Is he gonna play all them few years that he got? Probably not. He got everything he needs for sure.”

Life Begins at 40?

“Aa-ron Rodgers … Aa-ron Rodgers … Aa-ron Rodgers,” they chanted late in the third quarter. And again after a Josh Uche personal foul sent Rodgers sprawling on a 22-yard strike over the middle to Tyler Conklin. And again after an 18-yarder to Mike Williams.

“This was kind of the first step in playing like I know I’m capable of playing,” Rodgers said. “I felt like I was myself quite a few years ago.”

All those years getting dominated by the Patriots, wishing that one day they could combat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick with someone like Aaron Rodgers.

A quarterback worthy of being feared.

The Jets had ended the Pats’ 15-game stranglehold over them without Rodgers in the 2023 regular-season finale.

Now, with Rodgers, their streak is two, and it should be three after they meet the next time.

Here was Rodgers, third-down machine, surgically dissecting the Pats with his arm and with his mind, moving effortlessly out of the pocket and extending plays when necessary, handing the Jets defense, which would have killed for a moment like this a year ago, or years before that, a lead. A big lead.

This was the most efficient we have seen from the Rodgers offense, and the last piece to the puzzle was the start of smoothing out the timing with Garrett Wilson on a perfect 2-yard TD throw inside the right pylon against Christian Gonzalez. A throw requested by Wilson. A wish granted by Rodgers.

We even witnessed Rodgers scampering out of harm’s way to the Jets sideline for 11 yards early in the third quarter.

Allen Lazard caught Rodgers’ first MetLife TD pass as a Jet and made sure he presented the ball to his old Packers teammate who has meant so much to him.

Artist at work:

A flick of the wrist to Conklin over the middle on second-and-17 for 22. It positioned Breece Hall for the 1-yard TD run following a successful Robert Saleh challenge and it was Jets 14, Patriots 0.

Third-and-9 before the two-minute warning: another flick of the wrist to Conklin for 22 yards over the middle.

Welcome home, Aaron Rodgers.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the Jets without some confounding intrigue.

As in: why did Rodgers push Saleh away on the sideline and glare at him after the coach appeared ready to hug him following Hall’s TD in the second quarter?

This was their story and they were sticking to it: Something about grabbing a rare two-TD lead. Likely the quarterback warning the coach that it was too early to celebrate.

“Aa-ron Rodgers … Aa-ron Rodgers … Aa-ron Rodgers.”