It was a nail-biter with 66 total points scored as the Steelers beat the Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A close game was no surprise. An offensive explosion? Not many saw it coming.
Regardless, there are plenty of takeaways to be had.
1. Aaron Rodgers looks great, but there’s a looming problem
Aaron Rodgers sure quieted some doubters with an electric Steelers debut. Four touchdowns, no interceptions, 244 yards — and even an opening drive score!
It wasn’t the most jaw-dropping performance we’ve ever seen from Rodgers, but he looked sharp at 41 years
old, connecting with seven different pass catchers and connecting on passes at every level of the field. He didn’t turn the ball over, completed 73.3% of his pass attempts, and his constant adjustments at the line of scrimmage didn’t go unnoticed. He looked every bit of an aging future Hall of Famer who can still get the job done.
Last year, Russell Wilson raised what had been a low bar of quarterback play post-Ben Roethlisberger. On Sunday, Rodgers raised it even more. His four-touchdown performance — in his first game in the black and gold — was better than anything Wilson put on the stat sheet during his time in Pittsburgh.
And while it’s still Week 1 and we don’t know what any team will truly look like this year, the Jets’ defense isn’t a slouch. The Aaron Rodgers we saw on Sunday might be here to stay.
…If he can stay healthy.
I wasn’t buying the Broderick Jones hype over training camp, and the Steelers’ left tackle didn’t do anything to boost my confidence on Sunday. He was the primary blocker on three of the four sacks Pittsburgh gave up against the Jets, and allowed a handful of additional pressures.
Jones was the standout, but the rest of the offensive line disappointed overall. The Steelers had a brutal 53 yards of team rushing; Jaylen Warren had a team-best yards per rush with just 3.4.
That lack of a running element in the offense makes Rodgers’ Week 1 performance all the more impressive. But due to the Steelers’ O-line woes, the Jets defense was able to tee off on him on play action. Rodgers took a number of rough hits on Sunday, turning around to see the New York defensive line running full speed at him.
It’s a tough situation for any passer, and at 41 years old, Rodgers has even less mobility and potential arm angles at his disposal.
A 34-point debut for the Steelers offense was unexpected and is cause for celebration. But that success might be hanging by a thread.
2. “We’re not whooping enough blocks and making enough tackles”
The above is a rarely-used Tomlinism that the Steelers head coach broke out in his halftime interview. The highly-paid and star-studded Pittsburgh defense didn’t look the part at all on Sunday, giving up 32 points, 394 total yards, and 6.4 yards per play.
And it’s hard to pin the problems on one exact unit. Rather, there were issues all over.
The Steelers’ D-line couldn’t hold its ground in the run game, and the edge rushers struggled all afternoon to put Jets quarterback Justin Fields on the turf. The inside linebackers might’ve been the worst offender, with issues getting off of blocks and holding up in coverage, while the secondary as a whole allowed Fields to have an efficient 16/22, 218-yard day.
There were some negative standouts: Darius Slay, despite coming off an excellent 2024, was always going to be a risky signing as a 34-year-old cornerback. On the deep touchdown he gave up to Garrett Wilson, it was clear he just didn’t have the speed to keep up.
On a similar note, the Jets ran at the 36-year-old Cam Heyward all day and routinely found success, even if Keeanu Benton had the worse game of the two interior defenders.
And as previously mentioned, it was a disappointing showing for the Steelers’ inside linebacker duo of Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson. Both are incredibly talented, but the knock has always been that they’re more run and hit linebackers than true downhill thumpers. That was the case on Sunday as both struggled to contain the Jets’ rushing attack, allowing a number of chunk gains. There’s reason to wonder if the Steelers need to mix Cole Holcomb and Malik Harrison into the rotation more often.
Still, there were some positives. T.J. Watt was a black hole against the run while Alex Highsmith racked up elite pressure numbers. Jalen Ramsey also had a fantastic game (more on that later). It was a game of almosts for the Pittsburgh defense against Fields, with multiple near-misses on sacks and passes defensed. Broken arm tackles were a theme in the run game.
Ultimately, from the Steelers’ perspective, you’d rather have the offense look great and the defense falter in Week 1 than vice versa. The former had everything to prove to open the season. The latter is stocked with high-end talent and peppered with veteran All-Pros who will almost certainly right the ship moving forward.
It’s way too early to panic regarding the Steelers’ status as an elite defense. And even if it falls short of that mark, they’ll still certainly improve from Week 1’s letdown of a performance.
Was it concerning? Absolutely. But the season is too young to be drawing conclusion already.
3. Jalen Ramsey was meant to be a Steeler
Jalen Ramsey’s game-winning pass breakup was such a great moment. It showcased everything he brings to the table, coming downhill and making a jarring hit to knock the ball loose on a must-have Jets fourth down.
Ramsey logged three total tackles and two passes defensed in the game, with this second breakup also coming on the Jets’ last drive. He also made a massive (legal) hit on Justin Fields and was talking trash to the opponent all game.
Ramsey is a heat-seeking missile on the football field with the attitude to match. He’s a tone setter for a defense that could look lethargic last year and had some low moments to open 2025. Plus, his versatility was a boon for a Steeler secondary that’s already dealing with some injuries. Ramsey, who played mainly slot and safety on Sunday, made the game-securing pass breakup on the boundary after Joey Porter Jr. left the game.
Over the next week, the Steelers are going to get plenty of criticism (much of it well deserved) for dedicating so many resources to defense and getting punched in the mouth versus the Jets. But the Ramsey addition is already looking more than worth it.
4. Chris Boswell deserves a raise
The Steelers were able to agree to a revised contract with a publicly disgruntled Cam Heyward less than 24 hours before the team’s Week 1 opener. That wasn’t the case for kicker Chris Boswell, the other Steelers All-Pro who reportedly wanted a pay bump this offseason.
Heyward deserved a raise, and so does Boswell, who’s arguably the league’s best kicker but the 10th-highest paid at his position in average per year.
However, while Heyward threatened to sit out of games to help his contract leverage, it was never a concern with Boswell, who had one of the shortest — and quietest — NFL contract “hold ins” in recent memory.
But during the Steelers’ Sunday win, Boswell was anything but quiet. He went four-for-four on extra points and two-for-two on field goals. His first was 56 yards. His second was a game-winning 60-yarder. It split the uprights perfectly down the middle and had the leg to hit from 70.
It’s a career long for Boswell, and one of the best moments in a career already full of memorable ones. Mike Tomlin broke out the rare positive connotation for “serial killer” as he commended the team’s cold-blooded specialist.
The Steelers don’t like to negotiate in-season. Once Boswell sent off the opening kickoff on Sunday afternoon, his chances for a pay bump in 2025 dropped to near-zero.
But it doesn’t take much to bump up Boswell’s salary ranking in a league where the highest-paid kicker makes all of $6.4 million per year. Boswell will be entering the last year of his contract this offseason — back at the negotiating table, he’ll have a case for every bit of the raise he’s been asking for.
5. Ancillary pass catchers step up
The Steelers’ unclear path at WR2 was one of the bigger talking points of the offseason, especially as it was a problem the team utterly failed to address the year prior.
But in a four-passing-touchdown performance against the Jets, Pittsburgh left Week 1 feeling good about its pass-catching depth.
Outside of unquestioned WR1 D.K. Metcalf, Calvin Austin had four receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown. His speed was evident as always, but the 5′ 9, 162-pound receiver also mossed a defender on a highlight-worthy back shoulder grab.
Ben Skowronek even had the team’s first touchdown of the season (who had that on their bingo card?) while tight end Jonnu Smith took a pop pass jet sweep for another score (that one was probably on someone’s bingo card). As expected, Aaron Rodgers got his running backs involved in the passing game, tossing another score to Jaylen Warren.
Despite a catch-less day from Roman Wilson, the Steelers had four different pass-catchers with touchdowns, two over 70 yards, and five with over 20 yards. The team used receiving tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith as jumbo slot receivers, with Freiermuth operating as a big-bodied target down the seams and Smith as a yards after catch option. There were a bevy of names getting open and making plays.
It was an early look at the marriage of ideas between Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and quarterback Aaron Rodgers: plenty of elements of the spread-out quick game, but with lots of tight ends and a heavy dose of play action.
It’s a long season. But the Steelers passing game looked about as good as you could hope in Week 1.
6. D.K. Met-YAC
D.K. Metcalf is not in the top tier of elite receivers in the NFL. His first target with the Steelers ended with an ugly drop.
But at the same time, he’s a size-speed miracle who played like a game-breaker against the Jets. The Steelers haven’t had a WR1 of his caliber since (not to compare the two) …Antonio Brown?
Metcalf ended the game with four grabs for 83 yards. Most of that production came with the ball in his hands, with the star receiver turning short throws into big gains. He’s 6’4, 229 pounds, but has the speed of one of the top deep threats in the league.
Metcalf’s yards after catch ability might be a crucial part of the Steelers’ offense this season, especially if the quick passing game has to fill in while the rushing attack continues to search for consistency.
7. Odds and ends
- Fans asked for more creativity from the Steeler defense in 2025, and while I haven’t looked at any all 22 yet, the team’s pressure packages did come with some wrinkles against the Jets. Pittsburgh unveiled a lot of mug looks (bringing linebackers to the line of scrimmage pre-play) and had a few exotic blitzes. Jalen Ramsey moved around a bunch. It’s surface-level analysis for now, and the results weren’t great for the Pittsburgh defense, but it’s a situation to monitor going forward.
- Kenneth Gainwell outsnapping Jaylen Warren, especially following the latter’s recent extension, was surprising. Gainwell looked fine as a runner outside of a fumble and provided the game’s biggest momentum change with his kickoff forced fumble, but his heavy usage over Warren was a puzzling choice by Arthur Smith.
- The currently-injured Nick Herbig might be more important to this Steelers defense than many realize. The Steelers’ OLB3 gets a lot of snaps spelling the two starters, and rookie Jack Sawyer didn’t make much of an impact in his first career NFL game. Herbig also specializes in quick pressures, something Pittsburgh failed to generate, especially in the first half.
- As mentioned earlier, the Steelers enjoyed some massive plays off of yards after catch against the Jets. But continuing to pass behind the sticks on critical downs is going to lead to some frustrating plays down the road. Just be prepared.
- Similarly, Aaron Rodgers’ pre-snap deliberations are going to lead to a few delay of games or early timeouts. The Steelers will have to take the bad with the good.
- As foreshadowed by some Steelers beat writers earlier this week, inside linebacker Malik Harrison has some outside linebacker versatility that he briefly used in Sunday’s game.
- Connor Heyward gets a lot of undeserved hate, but his personal foul penalty to ruin great field position in the third quarter was inexcusable. You can’t earn a roster spot largely due to special teams play and make an error like that.
- PSA: What media-trained players and coaches say in press conferences should not be taken as 100% gospel. Both Rodgers and Fields downplayed any revenge game narratives (as they should) before taking on their former teams on Sunday. But following Rodgers’ postgame quip and Fields’ cheeky high step into the end zone on Sunday, you can’t tell me either quarterback wasn’t enjoying sticking it to their former employer — whether they left town on “mutual” terms or not.
- Speaking of that Fields touchdown, how was the Steeler defense taken so off guard by a quarterback run? That’s the most probable play call when it’s Justin Fields on a short-yardage fourth down. This isn’t Peyton Manning versus the Cowboys.
- Cornerback Brandon Stephens was a weak spot in the Ravens’ defense last year and regularly plagued by the Russell Wilson moon ball. Now on the Jets in 2025, he was once again heavily targeted by Pittsburgh.
- Two wrongs don’t make a right. But apparently two bobbles make a catch.
- I projected a big day for Chris Boswell in our BTSC staff predictions on Saturday. But a barn burner? I specifically wrote it wouldn’t happen. Never in a million years did I think both teams would hit 30 points on Sunday. Week 1 trends don’t always replicate, but this Steelers team, at worst, looks like it’ll be plenty entertaining in 2025.
The Steelers will next take the field in their home opener against the Seattle Seahawks at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday, Sep. 14.
What are your takeaways from Steelers vs. Jets? Agree/disagree with the ones above? Join the Behind the Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!
