Aaron Rodgers’ Jets revenge tour shows the old guy may still have it
As revenge games go, this one was pretty sweet. Aaron Rodgers led the Steelers to a 34-32 win over the Jets, his former team, and over a coaching staff that fired him before they had the decency to check out his crystal collection.
“I was happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets,” Rodgers said on Sunday, after throwing for 244 yards and four touchdowns in his Pittsburgh debut.
Rodgers spent two bleak seasons with the Jets. First came the torn achilles that ended his first campaign almost before it began. Then, he slogged his way through a second year of mismanagement, playing for a franchise that effectively waved the white flag before Halloween. In Sunday’s comeback, he offered a glimpse of what could have been.
This was not vintage Rodgers. He is not the same as he was during his final years in Green Bay. At 41, he’s a little stiffer, more cautious, happy to dump the ball off to avoid getting hit. The four-time MVP is no longer the artist he was at his apex, the backfield ballerina who could create magic out of nothing. These days, he takes sacks in slow motion, unable to avoid the oncoming rush. But he is still has a supercomputer between his ears, a high-powered arm and a preternatural feel for how to punish defenses.
Ask Rodgers to be the driving force of an offense in 2025, and you’re heading nowhere. But slot him in a role as the league’s pre-eminent quarterback-as-point-guard, with weapons at receiver and a complementary defense, and he can carry a franchise far.
There were times on Sunday when Rodgers’s flaws were exposed. He was sacked on his first play from scrimmage and was fortunate not to throw the game away with a late fourth-quarter misfire. But beyond the stat line, Rodgers showed a willingness to reimagine his game, to accept the player he is today rather than what he was during his MVP years. And the Steelers have built an offense around that reality.
“I love the organization. I love them taking a chance on bringing me in,” Rodgers told CBS after the game. “There’s a lot of garbage being talked about myself or [offensive coordinator Arthur Smith] or how we would coexist.”
Whether or not Rodgers would subsume himself to the Steelers’ offense or force his own ideals on the coaching staff was an open question. Those were answered early on Sunday. He was happy to hand over the reins in a way he never did in New York, playing with a quick trigger and shuffled outside the pocket on Smith’s designed rollouts and bootlegs. When needed, he proved he can still thread the ball into tight windows.
The Steelers still needed help. The team’s vaunted pass-rush drew a blank against the Jets’ offensive line, giving Justin Fields time to carve them up for 266 yards and three touchdowns combined through the air and on the ground. Jets linebacker Quincy Williams helped bail out a Steelers stalled drive with an avoidable unnecessary roughness penalty, which Rodgers punished with his third touchdown. And when DK Metcalf somehow hauled in a late reception that bounced fortuitously off two players, Chris Boswell nailed the 60-yard game-winning field goal.
Through a couple hands. Not your ordinary reception.
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
PITvsNYJ on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/4zsjaHEWv2
“Our kicker is a serial killer,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. “He has a low pulse rate … and he cannot wait to deliver.”
Winning shutouts is not a formula for winning a playoff berth, not at this stage of Rodgers’s career. But the foundations of something are there: Rodgers refusing to turn the ball over and then turning the game over to his defense and kicker.
For the Jets, the loss will sting. Rodgers spent much of his two years in New York vacillating between off-field distraction and on-field liability. He sulked and moped. He pointed fingers. The franchise caved to most, if not all, of his demands: coaching hires, the structure of the offense, questionable free-agent signings, trades and unexcused absences. By the end, the headache was no longer worth the production. His final meeting with new Jets coach Aaron Glenn was quick, cold and combative, according to Rodgers. Given Fields’ first start, Glenn is probably happy with his call.
It remains to be seen if Rodgers can hold up to the rigors of a 17-game regular season and the promise of the playoffs – or if the honeymoon phase will wear off. But there are few things in sport as intoxicating as seeing the old guy who still has it. At least for four quarters, Rodgers showed that it is foolish to bet against a Hall of Famer having one great season left in him.
MVP of the week
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills. So … that was intense. There were moments during the Bills’ 41-38 instant classic victory over the Ravens when Allen looked like the greatest player of all time. There were moments when Lamar Jackson looked like the greatest player of all time. There were moments when Derrick Henry looked like the greatest player of all time (until his fourth-quarter fumble that changed the momentum of the game). And when 41-year-old Matt Prater, who wasn’t even on the Bills a few weeks ago, kicked the winning field in the final seconds, there were plenty in Buffalo who would have sworn he was the greatest player of all time. But Allen gets the plaudits for leading his team back from 15 points down in the four minutes – his final line for the evening included 394 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns – displaying a compelling blend of calm, physicality and football smarts.
“Our team doesn’t quit,” Allen told NBC in a post-game interview. “There’s people that left the stadium. And that’s OK, we’ll be fine. But have some faith next time.”
Consider yourself told.
Stat of the week
The Colts won a Week 1 game for the first time since 2013.Welcome to the Danny Dimes era, Indianapolis. The Colts clubbed the Dolphins 33-8 to open the season, with Daniel Jones becoming just the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 250-plus yards and run for two or more touchdowns in a season opener. Jones also became the first quarterback to lead a scoring drive on every single possession in a single game, according to NFL Research. That’s right! Jones, in his first week as the Colts starter, put together a performance unmatched by Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Nathan Peterman or … anyone.
Jones dismantled a dismal Dolphins defense, playing with a confidence he has rarely displayed since his rookie season. In New York, Jones became tentative, falling apart under pressure and chasing checkdowns rather than attacking defenses down the field. In his debut for the Colts, Jones drilled throws to all levels, completing 10 of his 13 attempts for 160 yards and a touchdown outside the numbers. In the red zone, he showed off his wheels and toughness, extending plays and scoring on two quarterback sneaks. He won’t face Miami every week, but Jones showed he can be a viable starter in Shane Steichen’s system.
Video of the week
Did we get a catch of the year contender in garbage time of week one? You bet.
Totally insane by Isaac TeSlaa. pic.twitter.com/vzjuU7FtrF
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 7, 2025
There’s Lions rookie Isaac TeSlaa, offering up his best Odell Beckham impression in a blowout 27-13 defeat to the Packers. The Lions have plenty of questions swirling around them after a heavy defeat. But TeSlaa is not one of them; he is an immediate star.
Elsewhere around the league …
-- The Micah Parsons era in Green Bay has begun. Ten days after being traded by the Cowboys, Parsons was on the field for the Packers, terrorizing the Lions. Dealing with a back injury, Parsons played fewer than 50% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps. But his impact was immediate, commanding the attention of the Lions’ offensive line and allowing the rest of the Packers’ defense to feast. Parsons finished the game with three pressures. The results of those pressures: a two-yard loss on a completion, an interception and his first sack as a Packer.
-- It may be time for Mike McDaniel to go condo shopping. Expectations for the Dolphins were low this season, but their performance against the Colts in the opener was putrid. Miami looked unprepared, undisciplined, and overmatched in their loss to the Colts. The franchise has poured a ton of resources into its defensive front, which couldn’t sniff Jones on Sunday. The secondary, an afterthought all offseason, confirmed itself as the weakest group in the league. And that’s before you get to the offense, McDaniel’s speciality, which was a disjointed mess. It’s one week, but everything is already on the table in Miami: McDaniel’s job, Tua Tagovailoa’s starting role, and Tyreek Hill’s future.
-- The Bengals have made a habit of stumbling out of the gate under Zac Taylor, and this year was no exception. Cincinnati edged past Cleveland 17-16 on Sunday, but only thanks to the assistance of rookie Browns kicker Andre Szmyt. Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense struggled to find rhythm, eking out just seven yards of offense in the second half. Yet the Browns couldn’t capitalise. Szmyt missed two big kicks on his NFL debut, including a 36-yarder that would have given Cleveland the lead late in the fourth quarter.
-- If you had Jake Tonges deciding a critical division game in Week 1, congratulations. Tonges, a third-string tight end and career special teamer, entered Sunday with zero career receptions. But he caught the game-winning touchdown against the Seahawks in a 17-13 win for the 49ers, replacing the injured George Kittle.
Purdy making magic happen 🪄
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 7, 2025
Jake Tonges with the hands 🙌
📺: FOX
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLhpic.twitter.com/26IBNBe9MT
Brock Purdy had a brutalseasonopener for San Francisco, throwing two interceptions and almost coughing up a couple more. But when the Niners needed Purdy to deliver most, he did. On third down, he scrambled around and threw a jump ball to Tonges, who snagged the ball before Riq Woolen could pick it off.
-- We have a fun quarterback rivalry brewing in the NFC South. Baker Mayfield and Michael Penix Jr exchanged clutch drives in the Bucs’ 23-20 win over the Falcons. Penix, making just his fourth career start, led his third fourth-quarter go-ahead drive, capping it with a gravity-defying rushing touchdown to put the Falcons ahead with 2:17 remaining. But Mayfield had the last word, finding rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka for his second touchdown of the day with 59 seconds left. Tampa missed the extra point, handing Atlanta one last chance, and Penix drove the Falcons into field-goal range. But Younghoe Koo pushed his kick wide, and the Bucs escaped with the win.
Penix was again denied an early career-defining performance by his defense and special teams. But the small sample size is growing larger each week; Penix has the tools to be a franchise quarterback. “I told him after the game, he’s going to be a problem in this league for a long time,” Mayfield said of Penix post-game. “I think he’s a great player. He’s young, but he’s got it.”
-- He may not act it, but Pete Carroll became the oldest head coach in NFL history on Sunday. At 73 years and 357 days, in his debut with the Raiders, Carroll oversaw a 20-13 win over the Patriots. The win also made Carroll the first coach to win his debut with four different franchises. Vegas struggled to run the ball and had multiple coverage breakdowns on defense, the antithesis of everything Carroll preaches. The good news: the Raiders may have the most explosive passing game in the league. Geno Smith threw for 362 yards and a touchdown with one interception, averaging 10.6 yards per attempt in his Raiders debut. Smith spread the ball around to eight different receivers, four of whom averaged more than 20 yards a catch.
