Rodgers' Revenge at MetLife - Steelers Defeat Jets in Season Opener Shootout

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-0 after an epic 34-32 win over the New York Jets. Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdowns against his former team, while the New York Jets gave the Steelers a lesson in how they should have used Justin Fields during the first half of the 2024 season.

Many thought this game would be a close, low-scoring affair but it was the opposite. The first five drives in the game ended in scores, in a matchup won by the offense. However, it was a worrying start as Rodgers was sacked by Quinnen Williams who, along with Will McDonald IV, dominated the Steelers at times. That was the start of a very bad day for Broderick Jones who, despite being moved to his preferred position in college at left tackle, is still struggling to live up to the potential of a first-round pick. A Pat Freiermuth 3rd and 10 catch kept the drive alive as Ben Skowronek finished it off with a 22-yard touchdown catch.

The Jets moved the ball well on their first drive, before T.J. Watt, with the help of Alex Highsmith, made two good plays against the run to keep the hosts to three points. But New York's second drive is where Steelers fans started to worry. The Jets again moved the ball with ease, dominating the visitors physically, particularly in the run game. The theme throughout the game for Aaron Glenn's team was to run away from Watt, and it worked to perfection. First-round pick Derrick Harmon was not on the field for the Steelers due to injury but it seems he will be needed back as soon as possible. The left side of the defensive line looked soft, and the secondary's coverage was not great either. That all resulted in a half which could not have gone much worse for Teryl Austin's defensive group, giving up 19 points in the first two quarters.

On the flip side, while the Steelers had positives in their attack, such as D.K. Metcalf showing he still has his speed with a couple of big catch and runs on the day, the run game struggled big time. Kenneth Gainwell got most of the carries at the start of the game, to the surprise of many, but had practically no room to work with against a strong Jets defensive line.

Despite the lack of success on the ground, Rodgers and his offense had a strong end to the first half with a Jonnu Smith touchdown after some big plays from Calvin Austin III earlier in the drive, as Pittsburgh looked to gather some momentum, now down just 19-17 at halftime. The first two drives in the 3rd quarter, however, were a big worry as the Steelers ran just eight plays for 18 yards on offense, while the Jets orchestrated another seemingly flawless touchdown drive against the highest paid defense in the league. Credit to Justin Fields, he was fitting the ball in some tight windows throughout the game, but as good as their quarterback was, the Jets were dominating Pittsburgh on the ground more than anything. Fields himself had a good day against the Steelers' pressure, and found Garrett Wilson for a 21-yard catch and run, before he scored himself with a two-yard quarterback sneak on the next play, epitomising Pittsburgh's lack of physicality on the the defensive line. That score came with less than three minutes left in the 3rd quarter, leaving Pittsburgh in a worrying state.

Now trailing 27-16, the Steelers needed some momentum, and boy did they find it. After a penalty against New York, and then some nice catch and runs from Warren and Metcalf, Pittsburgh was back in the endzone thanks to a Rodgers pass to Jaylen Warren in the flat on a play action call, starting the 4th quarter with seven points, after Chris Boswell's successful PAT. Just 50 seconds later, the Steelers had another seven points on the board. Kenneth Gainwell forced a fumble on the Jets' kick-off return and Ben Skowronek recovered the ball to give the offense great field position at the Jets' 22-yard line. Two plays later, Rodgers found Austin from 18 yards out, for his fourth touchdown pass of the day with a beautiful throw off his back foot. Despite the run game struggling, Arthur Smith deserves huge credit for his playcalling in this game. The touchdown to Austin was the cherry on top of a perfect day in the Red Zone for the visitors, who went three for three on trips inside the 20-yard line, with another touchdown from 22 yards out.

Huge credit to the Jets because, after two touchdowns in less than a minute for the Steelers, Fields and his team could have collapsed as they suddenly faced a 31-26 deficit. But, the offense continued to roll, going 67 yards on their next drive to retake the lead. Pittsburgh's defense once again struggled, giving up a 4th and goal from the one-yard line after the Jets faced a 3rd and goal from the 10-yard line on the previous play.

While the defense struggled throughout this game, credit must go to them for how they finished. When Rodgers' group stalled with a three and out, now trailing 32-31, Pittsburgh forced the Jets to punt after just three plays of their own. After that, a miraculous catch by Metcalf, as the ball bounced around for what seemed to be an eternity, helped the offense down the field and set up Chris Boswell for a 60-yard field goal. Lining up for his career long kick, Boswell showed no nerves, sending the ball right through the middle of the posts with plenty of distance on a kick that looked like it would have had a chance from 70 yards out, let alone 60.

Now trailing again, this time by 34-32, with just over a minute remaining, and one timeout to use, Fields had a chance to make a statement to his former team, and to the league. Unfortunately for him, Jalen Ramsey ended the game with a perfectly executed hit on Garrett Wilson to jar the ball loose on 4th down. Pittsburgh's defense had a bad day, but they made the big play in the biggest moment.

Overall, a win is a win, but there is a lot to takeaway from this result, good and bad. Starting with the good, Rodgers looked excellent on his return to MetLife Stadium. He missed a few throws here and there, but overall looked ready for the season ahead, with a few passes to Austin, including a touchdown, highlighting his performance. Austin was another positive with his performance. The Steelers have had question marks around who their second wide receiver will be going into this season, but Austin showed he has the ability to live up to that role, and hopefully he can do it on a consistent basis. Metcalf also had a strong debut, showing he is still a big threat with his run after catch ability.

There were plenty of things that could have gone better for the Steelers, though. Offensively, the run game was a worry, with many confused at the amount of snaps Kenneth Gainwell received in the first half. Third round pick Kaleb Johnson had just one carry on a day where the Steelers had 20 carries for just 53 yards. Jaylen Warren did have the most carries on the day and will be the number one back this season, but the preference of Gainwell over Johnson is an odd one, even if Tomlin does prefer to ease rookies in.

Defensively, Pittsburgh was bullied. The coverage was far too soft at times against Fields, a quarterback who has typically struggled as a pure passer throughout his career, although he did make some great throws in this matchup. You don't have to be an expert to identify that the Steelers' main problem in this matchup was stopping the run. but what was worrying in addition to that was the lack of discipline in the pass rush. Knowing Fields is one of the biggest threats in the league with his legs, the Steelers let him break contain continuously, not executing on a high pressure rate throughout the game, and instead letting it lead to big gains.

Pittsburgh's defensive unit will not play that badly all season but it is a concern at how easily the Jets made it look against them. However, credit where it is due, they did come up big in big moments, allowing just seven plays for 12 yards, and no points on New York's final two drives, as well as stopping a couple of two-point attempts earlier in the game, one of which was from the one-yard line. But Mike Tomlin will know that the highest paid defense in the league should be doing more, and not relying on their 41-year-old quarterback to drag them to victory. Once is fine, but this cannot become a theme for the Steelers all season long, and Tomlin knows that.

Pittsburgh hosts Seattle on Sunday, September 14th as Sam Darnold's Seahawks look to recover from their week 1 loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers.