Aaron Rodgers powers Steelers with four TDs in Week 1 thriller vs Jets, ends opening-drive drought

Rodgers changes the script in his Steelers debut

The boos started fast. The touchdowns came faster. One year after his season with the Jets ended four snaps in on the same turf, Aaron Rodgers walked into MetLife Stadium in black and gold and put on a clinic. Four touchdown passes, a 34-32 road win for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a clean statement that the 41-year-old still owns the moment.

The day did not begin smoothly. Rodgers took a sack on his first snap as a Steeler. The response was ruthless. He hit four of his next five passes on that opening series, then zipped a 22-yard strike to Ben Skowronek for a touchdown. That play did more than quiet the crowd. It snapped a strange, nagging number: Pittsburgh’s first opening-drive touchdown in a Week 1 game since 2008 against the Texans.

From there, Rodgers kept stacking answers. He found tight end Jonnu Smith on a short jet-sweep look near the goal line for a 3-yard score, then delivered a 5-yard touchdown to Jaylen Warren on a quick-hitter in tight space. When the Jets punched back late, Rodgers leaned on timing and trust. He dropped an 18-yard go-ahead dart to Calvin Austin III, threading it between coverage to reclaim the lead in the fourth quarter.

By the finish, Rodgers was 22-of-30 for 244 yards and those four scores. The setting only sharpened the edges. This was his first game facing the Jets since that four-snap heartbreak in 2023, and the reception was predictably hostile. He still greeted familiar faces in warmups—Quinnen Williams, Breece Hall, Tyrod Taylor, Jermaine Johnson—then walked into a chorus of boos when the real snaps began.

The Jets threw counterpunches and kept it tight. Special teams tilted the final minute. With under a minute left, Chris Boswell drilled a 60-yard field goal—longest in Steelers history—to put Pittsburgh up by two. New York had one more shot and crossed midfield, but the drive died on fourth down when defensive back Jalen Ramsey broke up the final throw. Ballgame.

If you wanted a snapshot of what changed for Pittsburgh in one afternoon, start with the script. The Steelers have been slow starters for years. On Sunday, the opening drive was crisp: quick decisions, tempo, layered routes, and route runners in motion to stress leverage. Rodgers read light boxes, took the free yards underneath, then hit the explosive when coverage squeezed. The sack on play one? It ended up looking like a wake-up slap.

Credit the design, too. Pittsburgh mixed misdirection and bunch looks to spring Smith on the goal line and used spacing to free Warren in tight red-zone windows. Austin’s touchdown showed something else: trust in a young receiver to win against contact on a money down. It wasn’t flashy for the sake of it. It was efficient, then aggressive when it needed to be.

Rodgers’ return to MetLife added an extra layer. The turf where he tore his Achilles became the stage for a careful but fearless operation. He avoided forcing hero throws early, took what the defense offered, and protected the ball. After that first sack, the offensive line settled. When the pocket frayed late, he moved just enough—no lung-busting scrambles, just smart slides and resets—to keep timing intact.

New York played its part in the drama. The Jets defense got early pressure and never disappeared. The offense, with Tyrod Taylor steering the huddle, hit enough plays to keep Pittsburgh honest and the scoreboard tight. Breece Hall’s touches forced the Steelers to respect the run. Field position swung a few times. The problem for the Jets was the same one that haunts most teams facing a veteran quarterback playing on time: every mistake became a short field or seven points.

When the dust settled, there was a handshake line with former teammates and some satisfied nods—then a long walk off the field for a quarterback who needed a fresh start. The win didn’t rewrite last year. It just made this one feel new.

• Opening haymaker: Rodgers hit four of five for 62 yards on the first series, capped by Skowronek’s 22-yard touchdown, ending Pittsburgh’s Week 1 opening-drive TD drought dating to 2008.
• Red-zone answers: Touchdowns to Jonnu Smith (3 yards on a jet-sweep look) and Jaylen Warren (5-yard pass) showed a plan for short field situations.
• Clutch throw: Calvin Austin III’s 18-yard score put Pittsburgh back in front late.
• Record kick: Chris Boswell’s 60-yarder set a franchise mark and iced the margin.
• Final stand: A fourth-down breakup by Jalen Ramsey sealed it near midfield.

Records, context, and what it means

There are numbers, and then there are the weird ones that tell the story. Rodgers became the first player since Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2010 to throw four touchdown passes against a former team. He also set an NFL first: consecutive games with four touchdown passes, each with a different franchise. He threw four in his final game with the Jets; he opened with four for the Steelers. That’s history, and it’s tidy.

For the Steelers, the bigger impact might be structural. The opening-drive touchdown flips a long-standing problem on its head. Fast starts reduce the load on a defense, change how opponents call plays, and make the run-pass blend more balanced. You could feel it here: Pittsburgh didn’t chase the game. It dictated terms, even when the score tightened.

The personnel fits also popped. Skowronek gave Rodgers a big, reliable target on in-breaking routes. Smith offered movement skills near the line of scrimmage to dress up short-yardage calls. Warren’s touchdown came from a precise, quick read that turned a small window into points. Austin’s downfield strike reminded everyone that speed still changes angles late.

For the Jets, this one stings, but it wasn’t a collapse. The defense got home early, and the offense kept answering. The two-minute drill after Boswell’s bomb was alive until the very last throw. Sometimes games come down to one contested ball. This one did.

Zoom out and you see why it matters in the AFC picture. Pittsburgh starts the season with a statement road win, and with a veteran who looks comfortable in a new playbook. The Jets have the sting of losing to their old star but also proof they can trade punches with a playoff-caliber defense. It’s Week 1, not a verdict. It is a clue.

For Rodgers, it’s also a benchmark. He returned to the building where his year ended in 2023 and delivered four touchdowns, no giveaways, and a closing drive that set up a franchise-record kick. He left under a different noise: not boos, just that stunned buzz a stadium gets when the script flips.

The next few weeks will tell us how much Pittsburgh can build on this start. If the opening-drive rhythm becomes a habit and the red-zone play calls stay this clean, the Steelers’ offense changes its ceiling. And if Rodgers keeps playing this efficiently, the on-paper expectations will stop being projections and start looking like the plan.