Aaron Rodgers’ first game with the Steelers ended with him cupping his hand to his ear after leading Pittsburgh to a 34-32 win over the Jets, the team that unceremoniously parted ways with him this offseason after just two seasons.
The Steelers needed every bit of Rodgers’ 41-year-old right arm to leave New Jersey with a win. While everyone expected a low-scoring defensive game, fans were instead treated to a high-scoring shootout that included seven total touchdowns from Rodgers and fellow quarterback Justin Fields, who scored three touchdowns against his former team.
Rodgers was the biggest reason why the Steelers won, but special teams also played a considerable role in the win. Chris Boswell drilled a game-winning, 60-yard field goal that followed a huge forced fumble by Pittsburgh’s gunners that set up Rodgers’ go-ahead touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III early in the fourth quarter that proved to be a key turning point.
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John Breech
Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look at some of the possible overreactions from Pittsburgh’s win over New York.
Aaron Rodgers is still elite
While he may no longer be No. 1, Rodgers is still a highly-gifted quarterback who is still more than capable of leading a team to victory. Rodgers’ right arm is still lighting quick and extremely accurate, his football IQ is higher than ever and his mobility is still good enough to extend plays. That makes him elite, at least in my book.
Rodgers was excellent Sunday on third-down and in the red zone, two areas that every quarterback needs to excel in if his team is going to be successful. Rodgers was extremely good on the run off of play-action, a nod to his mobility and his quick embrace of Arthur Smith’s offense.
The only thing we didn’t see from Rodgers on Sunday was his deep ball. While one can assume that he is still capable of making big, downfield throws, that will continue to be somewhat of a question until he does it in a game.
Pittsburgh’s run defense is still bad
To quote Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, “You are what your record says you are.” Well, the record currently shows that the Steelers still have a bad run defense nine months after surrendering 299 yards in a wild-card playoff loss to the Ravens.
Pittsburgh’s defense was run over on Sunday to the tune of 182 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries. Breece Hall did most of the damage with 107 yards on just 19 carries. Fields added to the carnage with 48 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
There are tangible reasons, however, to believe that the Steelers’ run defense will improve. They were playing without first-round pick Derrick Harmon and they lost strong safety DeShon Elliott to an injury during the first half. This was also the first time Pittsburgh’s new-look defense played together. Not helping that was the fact that they faced a Jets offense that was determined to run the ball.
All of that is true, but until the Steelers won’t be able to shed their label as a poor run-stuffing unit until they have a good game against the run.
The Steelers’ offensive line is in trouble
Throughout the offseason, several Steelers franchise icons, including Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis, said that Rodgers’ success in Pittsburgh will be predicated on the offensive line and how quickly the young but promising unit comes of age. Sunday was not a good start.
Rodgers was sacked four times on Sunday, which puts him on an early pace to be sacked 68 times this season if he plays in all 17 games. That’s way too many hits for any quarterback, much less one that will turn 42 later this season.
The offensive line struggled to consistently protect Rodgers and they also failed to open enough running lanes for Jaylen Warren and the rest of the Steelers’ backs. Pittsburgh rushed for a meager 53 yards on 20 carries which often led to Rodgers and the offense facing third-and-long situations. The Steelers overcame this on Sunday, but that is not a longterm recipe for success.
It should be noted that the Steelers’ line was facing one of the NFL’s better defensive fronts, led by Quinnen Williams. But Sunday was nonetheless a rough start for a unit that has to be better if the Steelers are going to accomplish their goal of winning their first playoff game in nine years.
The Steelers still need more pass-catchers
Outside of Rodgers, the biggest takeaway from Sunday’s game from a Steelers perspective was the play of Pittsburgh’s receiving corps. Rodgers completed passer to seven different teammates and threw touchdowns to four different teammates.
As expected, DK Metcalf led the way with 83 receiving yards. But somewhat of a surprise was the play of Austin, who caught four passes for 70 yards and a touchdown after missing a considerable portion of training camp with an injury. Austin was slated to be Pittsburgh’s No. 2 wideout prior to the injury, and that appears to still be the case following Sunday’s performance.
Pittsburgh also received contributions in the passing game from tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith, who combined for eight catches for 43 yards and a score. Running backs Warren and Kenneth Gainwell also got into the act with a combined five catches that included a touchdown catch from Warren.
Perhaps the most surprising contribution in the passing game came from Ben Skowronek, who in addition to catching Rodgers’ first touchdown pass recovered a key fumble that set up Rodgers’ go-ahead touchdown pass to Austin early in the fourth quarter. His contributions more than made up for the fact that fellow wideouts Scotty Miller and Roman Wilson were non-factors on Sunday.
It was one game, but it was enough to convince me that the Steelers have more than enough weapons for Rodgers as far as pass-catchers are concerned.
Chris Boswell is the NFL’s best kicker
Boswell has been largely excellent since he became the Steelers’ kicker during the 2015 season. His performance since the start of the 2023 season has been especially good as he has made 93.5% of his field goal attempts over that span.
If there were any questions as to where Boswell ranked among the NFL’s other kickers, that was emphatically answered Sunday, when the two-time Pro Bowler drilled both of his field goal attempts (including the game-winning kick) while making each of his four point-after attempts.
If this hasn’t convinced you that Boswell isn’t the NFL’s best kicker, Mike Tomlin’s postgame quote should do the trick.
“Our kicker is a serial killer,” Tomlin said. “He’s got a low pulse rate. He can’t wait to deliver.”