Steelers Now
In recent seasons, we’ve become accustomed to Week 1 slugfests, but the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 34-32 win over the New York Jets on Sunday provided a plethora of fireworks for four quarters. In the end, Mike Tomlin’s squad came through late, getting a timely turnover on special teams before the defense finally found their footing in the fourth quarter.
With so many personnel changes taking place offensively, they deserve kudos for keeping the team in this one. As always, let’s talk through some winners and losers from today’s contest.
Both quarterbacks in this one played with a chip on their shoulder and put on quite a show, lighting up the scoreboard to the surprise of pretty much everyone. Rodgers was super efficient in the quick game, getting the ball out at a hyperspeed pace of 2.29 seconds and allowing his playmakers to make things happen in space. Even though they weren’t able to push the ball down the field in this one, he avoided making a costly mistake in his return to MetLife. Most importantly, he helped them convert three times in the red zone. It was a good start for the wily vet.
Jets edge rusher Will McDonald IV gave Broderick Jones fits in their bout last season, and it was more of the same today. On first viewing, the left tackle was tagged for three sacks on the afternoon and was beaten cleanly on a handful of reps in true passing situations. He was a frequent flyer on this list in 2024, and you’re still seeing familiar reasons for his struggles: allowing guys to access his frame at will and struggling to move his feet to avoid getting overextended. With Rodgers lacking the ability to navigate the pocket the way that he used to, Jones must improve quickly to keep the 41-year-old in the lineup all season long.
There weren’t very many bright spots on the Steelers defense today after surrendering 32 points, but both of the edge rushers showed up and did their part. T.J. Watt was an absolute menace versus the run in this one with a team-high three stops, frequently running plays down from behind. Alex Highsmith was the squad’s most effective pass rusher on the afternoon, registering eight pressures and one sack. With Nick Herbig on the shelf due to a soft tissue injury, that added even more pressure on the starters from a snap count perspective. It wasn’t always pretty, but they battled, and that’s why they’re well compensated.
Pittsburgh was pretty fortunate to win this one with the way that they were manhandled up front for 60 minutes. New York ran amok from the opening drive to the tune of 182 rushing yards and a whopping 47% success rate on the ground. The struggles against zone read concepts that plagued them last season reared their ugly head once again today. On...
