Even the cruelest “Hard Knocks” twist would not have plotted what happened on the fourth snap of the first drive that started the Jets’ season.

There wasn’t a version that could have accounted for the punt return touchdown from undrafted wideout Xavier Gipson that ended the game Monday night, either.

At first, it was the nightmare that every Jets fan — every dreamer who thought Aaron Rodgers could replicate Broadway Joe’s Super Bowl III success — feared yet no one expected.

Leonard Floyd sacked Rodgers, with the 39-year-old quarterback’s lower left leg collapsing underneath him, and all the promise of the Jets’ offseason collapsed with it. Rodgers sat down on the MetLife Stadium field. He hobbled over to the medical tent with trainers. A cart took him to the tunnel for X-rays.

And then Gipson’s game-winning 65-yard punt return touchdown in overtime, which sealed a come-from-behind 22-16 victory over the Bills, gave the Jets a reason to start dreaming again.

Robert Saleh ripped off his headset and sprinted toward the end zone. It was an improbable conclusion. It was stunning. If only there were a sixth episode of “Hard Knocks” on Tuesday night.

But the Jets’ season-opening victory against the Bills was overshadowed by the future Hall of Famer — the person who was single-handedly tasked with saving their franchise’s short-term trajectory — exiting with what Saleh later labeled an Achilles injury that likely ends Rodgers’ season. It’s “not good,” Saleh said.

The first-quarter sequence manifested the worst type of irony because everything that needed to go right for the Jets this offseason had unfolded perfectly. They got the quarterback they needed in the strangest way possible — with a darkness retreat and a “Pat McAfee Show” declaration — giving them opportunity to for a Super Bowl run.

But few allowed themselves to think of the worst-case scenario. What if Rodgers got hurt? What if he couldn’t play for an extended period of time? What happened then?

Monday night was their introduction to that brutal reality, and the Jets now face critical decisions in the coming days, especially if the injury ends up being an Achilles rupture.

General manager Joe Douglas could try to sign a quarterback from the scrap heap to compete with Zach Wilson. He could try trading a draft pick to snatch one from another team, too.

At least for one game, though, the defense carried the Jets. Jordan Whitehead snagged three interceptions, and the defense collectively forced four Josh Allen turnovers. They made a juggernaut Bills offense from past seasons seem mundane.

At least on Monday, Garrett Wilson tapped a touchdown to himself after Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White appeared to break up the pass. It was nearly the same spot as his catch from Rodgers in the preseason, this time with a different distributor.

At least on Monday, the other Wilson — the quarterback who lost his starting quarterback job last season and lost it again when the Jets acquired Rodgers — was serviceable. He went 14-of-21 for 140 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

And now, the Jets’ season could hinge on him.

The strange confluence of events turned the palpable pregame buzz at MetLife Stadium into a somber, defeated feeling by halftime. Gipson’s punt return injected a tinge of optimism back into the Jets’ mood.

They had acquired Rodgers to be the missing piece that an elite defense, a talented group of skill position players and an evolving nucleus of young talent needed. Even Rodgers’ pregame interview on ESPN reflected the franchise’s expectations were, have been and will be the Super Bowl until some team — or some standings — tell them otherwise.

But even without Rodgers, and even without the limitless potential he gives them, the Jets showed they could still brew something special. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe it’s not sustainable without Rodgers. Maybe they’ll need another quarterback beyond Wilson to orchestrate a successful campaign.

Maybe, though, Monday was a spark.

Overreaction Monday has come and gone, and it’s easy to look at some of the eye-popping numbers — Joe Burrow’s passing yards (82), the Giants’ points allowed (40) — and think that the preseason projections and expectations are meaningless.

Sports+ absorbed all of those takes that hit the panic button, all of the worst-case scenarios that seemingly could become new normals and compiled a list of which overreactions could turn out to be the most accurate and which have the potential to look the most foolish:

Accurate:

• Jordan Love looks like the real deal in Green Bay. It’s tough to argue with this one after Love completed 15 of 27 passes for three touchdowns in the Packers’ convincing victory against the Bears. To be the real deal, though, doesn’t mean replicating what Rodgers did across 18 seasons with the Packers.

That’s unrealistic.

If Love can complete the throws he needs to make, it’ll open up more avenues for Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon to operate, plus their defense — with Quay Walker, Rashan Gary, Jaire Alexander and others — seems positioned to keep Love and the Packers offense within striking distance most games, too.

• The Browns defense will actually be this good, and makes Cleveland an AFC North contender. Even though the Bengals’ offense won’t play this poorly every week (more on that below), that defensive performance from Cleveland was impressive.

Ex-Lions coach Jim Schwartz — who also was the architect of tenacious defenses in Philadelphia and Buffalo — became the Browns’ defensive coordinator this offseason. It’s a unit that also added (three-time Pro Bowler) Za’Darius Smith and others to an existing core that revolved around star defensive end Myles Garrett.

This group appears built for those physical, bad-weather matchups against the Ravens, Steelers and other AFC rivals once the playoffs near.

• The Dolphins, again, reminded everyone of just how far a healthy Tua Tagovailoa could take them. It’s difficult to gauge how far the Dolphins would have advanced last season with a healthy Tua, given how much time he missed due to concussions, but Sunday’s victory against the Chargers — in which Tagovailoa went 28-for-45 for 466 yards, three touchdowns and an interception — provided a blueprint for how the Dolphins actually could win the AFC East. Teams need two impressive defensive backs to contain wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Head coach and offensive guru Mike McDaniel always has maximized his running backs’ potential, too. Vic Fangio was hired to revamp their defense, and, really, that didn’t even matter in the high-scoring, 36-34 Miami win. The Dolphins will go as far as Tagovailoa, and his presence on the field, directs them.

Foolish:

• Joe Burrow’s 82 passing yards a few days after becoming the highest-paid player in NFL history foreshadows a poor season for the Bengals. Cincinnati will be fine. The core that advanced to the Super Bowl two years ago mostly remains intact, and as long as Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins remain healthy, Burrow’s numbers will certainly improve.

Lou Anarumo’s defense was a key part of that run to Los Angeles in 2021, and more than anything, that unit will need to take some of the pressure off Burrow until the offense starts humming again.

• The Giants will take a massive step back after Sunday’s 40-0 loss. It was the exact opposite of what Sunday was supposed to be for the Giants. This could’ve been the time to defeat the Cowboys — after pivotal offseasons for Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, Darren Waller, Dexter Lawrence and others — and make an early statement for the NFC East race, but more questions emerged instead.

The Giants aren’t as bad as that game suggested. They’re probably not as good as last year’s run to the NFC divisional round, either. But they should, at least, still be a group competing for one of the wild-card spots, while also finishing behind the Cowboys and the Eagles in the NFC East.

They certainly shouldn’t end up behind the Commanders in the standings at the end of the year. If that’s the case, general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have some real problems to address.

• The Chiefs’ wide receivers will spoil their dynastic run, even if Travis Kelce returns soon. Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore didn’t inspire any hope that they could replace wideouts such as Hill and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the Kansas City offense.

But this is Patrick Mahomes. This is Andy Reid. And as long as they’re together in the same offense, the Chiefs will almost certainly make the playoffs and make a run into late January.

That’s what the legendary coaches and quarterbacks do, especially if they’re both employed by the same franchise.

There were times — some more obvious than others — when Harrison Bader resembled the type of player the Yankees should keep as their center fielder beyond 2023, but the franchise’s desired long-term solution was quickly progressing through the minors.

Jasson Dominguez was the future. He was the 20-year-old star prospect with the booming power and tantalizing speed and enough talent to give Yankees fans a glimmer of hope amid a disappointing season. He was The Martian who would, one day, land in The Bronx. But just about a week after he finally did, Dominguez felt soreness in his right elbow, underwent imaging and was diagnosed Sunday with a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

Now, in addition to still needing that elusive left fielder, the Yankees also have to pinpoint a center fielder to start 2024 with Dominguez likely out between nine and 10 months. That would place him on a timetable to return in June or July, but the Yankees need someone for the March, April and May, too.

And that’s where Bader re-enters the discourse. He’ll hit free agency for the first time this offseason, once the Reds’ season ends and Bader — after getting placed on waivers by the Yankees at the end of August — needs to find another new team.

He went from the return in a head-scratching Jordan Montgomery deal at the 2022 trade deadline to the bat that homered three times in five ALDS games against the Guardians, plus twice more against the Astros in the ALCS. After an oblique injury from spring training delayed his 2023 debut, Bader recorded hits in nine of his first 12 games, too.

But his numbers kept dipping, and the Yankees opened up playing time for Dominguez by parting ways with Bader.

Still, Bader could serve as an option for the Yankees to pursue this offseason as he’s one name on an underwhelming list of outfielders — and especially center fielders — who will reach free agency this winter.

The Cubs’ Cody Bellinger will likely command the most money, given his resurgent year (.317 average, .910 OPS, 89 RBIs) that had already made him a desired commodity at the trade deadline. He is likely to decline his end of a mutual $12 million option for 2024.

Beyond that, the Yankees’ external options are underwhelming. Kevin Kiermaier, an AL East foe during tenures with the Rays and Blue Jays, will become a free agent, but there’s a risk with pursuing the 33-year-old given past injuries.

Perhaps they could also trade for Dylan Carlson, the Cardinals outfielder and rumored trade deadline target who has played all three outfield positions — and, in 2023, 115 games in center.

Or, the Yankees could try to fill the vacancy until Dominguez returns with an internal option, such as Everson Pereira — their No. 3 prospect who was called up at the end of August and has hit .150 while playing 18 games in left field.

There’s upside that comes with having a young prospect who could provide a lineup spark, just as Dominguez did in September with four homers in eight games. But the Yankees also have to consider a backup plan, a worst-case scenario if Pereira’s numbers don’t reflect someone ready to play 120-plus MLB games.

Can they tolerate a sub-.200 average if Pereira plays exceptional defense? Who becomes the injury replacement? Would the Yankees attempt to bring back Isiah Kiner-Falefa in free agency, given his mostly seamless transition from shortstop to the outfield in 2023?

Maybe the Yankees could experiment with having Aaron Judge serve as their center fielder until Dominguez returns, too. It’s unlikely, perhaps, since he played just one game at the position his first five MLB seasons and has played exclusively right field since his toe injury in July. But in between those stretches, he logged a combined 115 games at the position from 2021-23.

With a full offseason to recover, perhaps manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman would consider that shift for their $360 million star, too.

This is where it gets interesting for Team USA.

Their appearance in the FIBA World Cup ended without a medal for the second consecutive edition of the tournament, with Canada winning the bronze medal game and Germany defeating Serbia for the title. Their loss to Lithuania in the group stage of the tournament was stunning.

And according to multiple reports, the United States might be able to rely on its actual superstars — not just the emerging stars who played in the World Cup — to help fix its trajectory in the global basketball conversation next year at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Athletic reported LeBron James has started trying to recruit players for the team and wants to represent the country, too. That list reportedly could extend to Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis, with ESPN adding that Devin Booker and Chris Paul have also considered another appearance on the world stage.

It leaves head coach Steve Kerr and the Team USA staff in an interesting situation, as some — or perhaps most — of the players who represented the country in the World Cup likely wouldn’t make the Olympic roster if the country’s best players decide to participate.

The reported list already includes eight, leaving four open spots for players such as Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, the Nets’ Mikal Bridges (13.6 points per game), Anthony Edwards (18.9 points per game), Austin Reaves (13.8 points per game) and Tyrese Haliburton (5.6 assists per game) in addition to any other NBA players eligible to represent the United States who decide to join (Joel Embiid is atop the wish list).

Durant led Team USA with 20.7 points per game at the Tokyo Olympics, and Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard and Zach LaVine also made the roster that defeated France for the gold medal.

Next year’s team could look similar to that group, and that would help Team USA. It would give them a better chance to repeat as gold medalists. But it also means that those in the Team USA spotlight this summer would become little more than afterthoughts.