PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers gave Aaron Rodgers plenty of latitude over the last six months.
They didn't foist an ultimatum on him after he visited the team's facility in March. They didn't panic when organized team activities started in May and Rodgers was still in California mulling his options. They let him mostly hang out during mandatory minicamp in June, a few days after he agreed to a one-year deal. They didn't make him take a live snap during the preseason, a courtesy Tomlin had not afforded any quarterback — not even Ben Roethlisberger — during Tomlin's first 18 years on the job.
Tomlin said repeatedly he wasn't worried. That Rodgers would be ready when the games started to count. That all the hand-wringing about Rodgers needing time to get up to speed was just that, hand-wringing.
Over the course of three hours on Sunday, with his former team on the other sideline, Rodgers repaid Pittsburgh's patience with a four-touchdown performance in a 34-32 season-opening victory over the New York Jets that offered proof there's still life left in his 41-year-old right arm.
“You guys asked me last week, why was I confident?” Tomlin said afterward. “That’s why I was confident. That’s what I’ve been looking at in preparation, and I’m appreciative of it, not only his efforts but the efforts of the collective.”
Maybe, but it wasn't the collective that had such personal stakes on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. It was Rodgers, still smarting from being jettisoned by New York's new head coach, Aaron Glenn, during a meeting in which Rodgers believed he wasn't shown the respect he deserved.
“There were probably people in the organization that didn’t think I could play anymore, so it was nice to remind those people I still can,” Rodgers said.
And in the process, Rodgers sent a familiar message to Steeler fans skeptical about, well, everything since he joined the team in what in some ways feels like a marriage of convenience.
While there is plenty to work on as the season begins in earnest — most notably play along both sides of the line of scrimmage, where the Steelers were manhandled most of the day — there also is optimism that for the first time since the Killer B's run led by Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown in the mid-2010s, Pittsburgh has an offense that might not be a mere bystander.
It might even be dangerous.
And, it seems, worth the wait.
What's working
Funny how much different offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's scheme looks when a four-time MVP is running it.
Ben Skowronek, Jaylen Warren and Calvin Austin III didn't have a Jets player within arm's reach on their touchdown receptions, a testament to both Smith's play design and Rodgers' ability to sell a play fake on a day when the Steelers actually couldn't run the ball effectively.
What needs help
The Steelers spent the spring and summer promising to shore up a defensive front seven that was mauled down the stretch last year, most notably in a humbling playoff loss to Baltimore.
With injured rookie first-round pick Derrick Harmon sitting out while recovering from a sprained knee, it looked like more of the same. There was little push from Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Yahya Black and others along the line, while inside linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson struggled to get off blocks.
The Steelers have allowed 153 yards rushing per game over their last seven, dating to the end of 2024. Expect clubs that might not even be considered “running” teams to test Pittsburgh on the ground until things start ticking in the right direction.
Stock up
Tomlin likened Pro Bowl kicker Chris Boswell to a “serial killer" for the way he regularly walks onto the field in tight situations and delivers.
Boswell's 11th game-winning kick was no different. His career-best and franchise-record 60-yarder probably would have been good from 70. Boswell responded in his typically stoic fashion, letting his teammates do the celebrating.
While Boswell's bid to get a new contract might have fizzled — he briefly did a “hold in” during camp that quietly went away — the 34-year-old likely will be in line for a significant raise in the offseason if he's able to keep the form he's shown over the last two seasons, when he made 70 of 75 kicks.
Stock down
A pivotal year for former first-round pick Broderick Jones began with a clunker. The left tackle was beaten for three of New York's four sacks, including two to Jets defensive end Will McDonald. Throw in the four pressures Jones allowed, and all the good buzz he generated during training camp evaporated over the course of three hours in which he was repeatedly exposed.
Injuries
Safety DeShon Elliott limped off in the first half with a knee injury and did not return. Veteran Chuck Clark filled in, but missing Elliott — who signed a contract extension in the offseason — for an extended period would be a significant blow to a talented secondary.
Key number
58 — Pittsburgh victories in one-score games (eight points or fewer) since the start of the 2017 season, the most in the NFL over that span.
Next steps
Try to plug the leaks in an unexpectedly vulnerable defense ahead of a visit from the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
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