Despite the defense’s best efforts, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-0 after one of the crazier Week 1 games in franchise history.
Despite the vast majority of analysts and fans expecting a typical low-scoring game from two teams that rarely put up fireworks, points came easily for both sides. Both offenses went back and forth to start the game, as the first five combined drives resulted in points. This was by far the biggest problem for the Steelers, as their former quarterback Justin Fields had his way
with their defense.
The Jets were able to run all over Pittsburgh, totaling 182 yards on the ground. Fields’ arm, though, was just as impactful as the former first-round pick went 16-of-22 for 218 yards and had three total touchdowns on the day. Unfortunately for Fields, Aaron Rodgers was on the other side.
In his Steelers debut, Rodgers went 22-of-30 for 244 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the first Steelers quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger in 2020 to throw four touchdowns in a game. Rodgers was dealing right from the first snap, leading the Steelers on an opening-series touchdown that featured two third-and-long conversions and culminated with a touchdown pass to Ben Skowronek to put the Steelers up 7-3. It goes without saying that it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Steelers, though.
Twice in the game, they trailed by nine, and both times Rodgers threw a touchdown to get the game back to within two points. A touch pass to Jonnu Smith made it 19-17 before Fields led an eight-play drive to put New York up 26-17. On the ensuing drive, Rodgers took the Steelers down the field in nine drives and hit Jaylen Warren for a touchdown. What occurred next was the play of the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, running back Kenneth Gainwell punched the ball out of Xavier Gipson’s hands, and Ben Skowronek recovered. Two plays later, Rodgers hit Calvin Austin on a great play-call by Arthur Smith – a play action pass that saw Austin sneak behind the defense from the slot.
Fields would high-step into the end zone on a bootleg touchdown run, and the Steelers would come up empty on the following drive, but got a big stop to get the ball back. Rodgers drove the Steelers to the 43-yard line, and Chris Boswell kicked a career-long 60-yard field goal to give the Steelers the lead, continuing to prove that he is the best kicker in football.
After a dreadful performance from the defense, the newest Steeler made the game-winning play, as Jalen Ramsey dislodged Garrett Wilson from the ball on fourth down to cement the win for the Steelers, who escape East Rutherford 1-0.
The good? Aaron Rodgers looked like his former self. Whenever the Steelers needed to have a big play, he provided it and gave the Steelers their first 30-point Week 1 performance since 2016. DK Metcalf looked explosive, as well, catching four passes for 83 yards. And while the defense as a whole was brutal, T.J. Watt lived in the backfield and had several tackles for loss. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith deserves a lot of credit, as well – he called a terrific game, got creative when needed, and dialed up a fair amount of deep looks.
The bad? Just about everything else. Broderick Jones was a liability all afternoon, and Will McDonald feasted to the tune of two sacks. The Steelers gave up four sacks in total, and the offensive line opened up next to nothing in the run game.
As already noted, the defense – woof. The Jets had 394 total yards of offense and averaged over six yards per play. If that’s how this unit looks against the Jets, God help them when they play the Ravens, Bengals, and Bills. The Jets ran the ball at will, and Fields looked comfortable throwing the ball all game -a lot needs to be cleaned up on that side of the ball.
With all that said, the Steelers are 1-0 for the second straight year, and the offense showed they can carry the load when needed. They’ll take on the Seattle Seahawks next week in the home opener.
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