The New York Jets are home on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey to open the 2025 season. They will be facing Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers blew out the Jets by three touchdowns when they met last year, but the Jets have gotten the better of the Steelers in three of their last five games. Aaron Glenn and company would surely like to get off to a good start with a win in their home opener, but the Steelers are rarely an easy opponent.
Previewing this matchup, Ryan Parish,
deputy manager at Behind The Steel Curtain, was kind enough to answer a few questions regarding the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers.
1. How are Steelers fans feeling about Aaron Rodgers? Are you optimistic he can take the Steelers on a deep playoff run?
I think the mood among Steelers fans is the same as in recent years: certain Pittsburgh will make the playoffs, and split between the optimists and pessimists on whether they’ll do anything noteworthy once they get there. Personally, I think the playoff victory drought ends this year, but I don’t see them advancing farther than the divisional round.
2. How is the Steelers’ 2025 rookie class shaping up? Which rookies are likely to play prominent roles against the Jets?
The Steelers’ first first-round pick, defensive lineman Derrick Harmon, had been looking promising, but was injured in the final preseason game. We’re optimistic about his future, but he’ll miss Week 1. Running back Kaleb Johnson was tied for the preseason lead in missed tackles forced, according to PFF. It’s unclear how big a workload Mike Tomlin will give him out of the gate, but he should be full steam ahead by the second half of the season. Jack Sawyer is easily the 4th edge rusher on the depth chart at this point, so I wouldn’t expect much from him in this week’s matchup. Fifth-round defensive lineman Yahya Black is quickly becoming a fan favorite after a strong summer. He’s a large individual who was drafted to help stop the run, but who might have a better pass rush repertoire than was expected.
3. How would you attack the Steelers on offense and on defense?
If you can stop the run, the Steelers are likely going to struggle. While I expect Rodgers to play better than he did with the Jets, the Steelers have little proven talent at wide receiver behind DK Metcalf. If you can get the Steelers behind the sticks early, they might struggle to string out drives.
On defense, the Steelers are largely revamped after a busier-than-usual offseason. They threw a lot of resources at improving the run defense, and the presumably run-heavy Jets will be a good first stress test.
4. Which players, if any, are guys who the casual NFL fan may be unfamiliar with but Steelers fans know can make a difference in the game?
I shouted him out earlier, but Yahya Black might start with Harmon out, and I’m already intrigued about his potential. Payton Wilson was quietly one of the better coverage linebackers in the league last year and will likely be tasked with spying Justin Fields on Sunday. On offense, Calvin Austin is a useful speed threat and Roman Wilson will be seeing his first game action after injuries hampered his rookie season. Tight end Darnell Washington might also give Jets defenders fits as a blocker.
5. Which team wins on Sunday, and what are the primary factors leading to the win?
The Steelers win the turnover game and rein in Fields’ rushing in the second half of the game to win 24-18.
