NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A short while after the Jets won their first game of the season, Aaron Rodgers was already thinking ahead.

“These are kind of the games you look back on late in the season,” Rodgers said, “and be thankful that you won these because if you want to be a great team, you have to win in these type of environments against teams like that.”

No one is going to send the film of the Jets’ 24-17 victory over the Titans to Canton, but Rodgers was right.

The Jets had to have this one.

If they are going where they think they’re going — a deep run in the playoffs — they needed to get off the mat from the opening loss to the 49ers and get to 1-1.

It’s not like 0-2 would be a death sentence, but it sure would have felt like one around here.

The questions about Robert Saleh would have been loud Monday morning.

Instead, the Jets can prepare for Thursday’s game with the Patriots feeling good off a victory.

“We fought, kept swinging,” Saleh said. “We knew today wasn’t going to be easy with all the travel, but credit our guys, they kept answering the bell.”

It certainly wasn’t easy and no one is going to be making reservations for flights to New Orleans, the site of February’s Super Bowl, off of this performance.

The Jets had to rally from a touchdown deficit twice to win this game over the Titans (0-2).

Rodgers was not spectacular (18 of 30, 176 yards, 2 TDs) but he delivered when the Jets needed him to.

He went 5-for-5 on the game-winning drive, including great throws to Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams to drive down the field.

Jets teammates who have been waiting to see Rodgers do his thing for the last 17 months since he was traded to the Jets witnessed the calm and confidence a four-time MVP can provide a team.

“You know you’re gonna win the game,” rookie Braelon Allen, who scored the game-winner, said. “I mean, that’s what it come down to. I haven’t been around him for too long, but I’ve watched him for a really long time. There’s nobody better in those situations over the past two decades. So you know, it’s nothing but confidence you’re going to pull it out as long as everybody does their job.”

Rodgers got the ball with 8:41 left in the game and the score tied at 17-17.

The Jets had already punted twice in the fourth quarter.

Rodgers hit Wilson for a 26-yard gain on third-and-1 to put the ball in Titans territory.

Then he found Williams on a 50/50 ball along the left sideline on second-and-16.

Two plays later, Allen ran 20 yards for the touchdown and the Jets had the lead.

The defense would have to come up with one more stop.

Titans quarterback Will Levis, who had two turnovers in the first half, pushed the Titans all the way to the Jets 8-yard line.

The biggest play coming on a 16-yard scramble by Levis on a third down where it looked like the entire Jets defensive line had a shot at him.

But the Jets held firm.

Will McDonald sacked Levis on third-and-goal, the third sack of the day for the 2023 first-round pick.

Then, safety Tony Adams knocked the ball out of Tyler Boyd’s hands at the goal line to preserve the Jets’ first victory of 2024.

Rodgers actually gets credited with a win as the starting quarterback in last year’s opener against the Bills when he was injured on the fourth play of the game, but this was his first true Jets victory.

“Feels great,” Rodgers said. “Been a long time coming.”

This was a gutty victory for the Jets, who landed at Newark Airport around 7 a.m. Tuesday morning after the loss to the 49ers.

They had a short work week to prepare for a Titans team that has a solid defense and some weapons on offense.

Calvin Ridley gave the Titans a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 10-yard end-around.

Meanwhile, the Jets offense sputtered, punting on its first three drives.

“We flashed today, but I still I feel like we’re just a little bit off,” running back Breece Hall said. “We’re right there. We’re getting close. That’s the most exciting thing. It was a good win today and we still feel like we could do better.”

It looked like the Titans were going to go up 14-0 or at least 10-0 when they drove to the Jets 6 early in the second quarter, but Levis inexplicably flipped the ball backwards as he was falling down and Quincy Williams jumped on it.

The Jets did not score off of that turnover, but did off a Levis interception on the next series.

Rodgers found Allen for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the game.

The Jets took a 14-10 lead in the third quarter when Rodgers connected with Hall on a 26-yard touchdown pass on the first drive of the second half.

Hall told Rodgers to throw him a go-ball if a linebacker was on him and Rodgers listened.

The Jets could only get a field goal after Irv Charles blocked a punt and that allowed the Titans to tie up the game at 17-17 on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Levis to Ridley with 3:28 left in the third quarter.

Rodgers and the Jets then won the game in the fourth quarter, getting their first view of what Rodgers can mean for this Jets team.

“He’s just like a conductor,” Allen said. “We just drive right down the field with no problems. When you have a guy like that you know you’ve got a chance to win every game.”