The Pittsburgh Steelers escaped WR Davante Adams this week, but he could pose an even bigger problem on Sunday night. Despite moving to a new team, Adams has a higher level of comfort with his “new” quarterback, than anybody else. After playing together in Green Bay for eight years, he is back with Aaron Rodgers. And Steelers DC Teryl Austin knows that is a problem, regardless of the abbreviated timeline for preparation.
“We all know when you play against a great receiver-quarterback combination, they have a lot of things that they’ve done together, and they’ll be well-versed”, Austin said of Adams and Rodgers, via the Steelers’ media department. “I don’t think he’s going to need the whole playbook to be successful”.
The New York Jets just completed a trade for Davante Adams this past week, making his debut against the Steelers. Pittsburgh just played the Las Vegas Raiders, who traded him to the Jets. But Adams hasn’t played for the past three weeks due to a “hamstring injury”, which is now magically healed.
A 2014 second-round pick, Davante Adams caught 669 passes for 8,121 yards and 73 touchdowns for the Packers. The overwhelming majority of that he achieved with Aaron Rodgers on the other end of the throws. But he has continued to play at a high level in his post-Packers career, including a 14-touchdown season in 2022.
“They’ll be on the same page”, Teryl Austin assured of Adams and Rodgers, the Steelers’ next challenge. “It will probably be like they haven’t missed a beat. Again, just having the opportunity to coach against them back when they were at Green Bay for quite a few games, you know how potent they are and the kind of symmetry they have together”.
Before joining the Steelers, you might recall that Teryl Austin was the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. He served in that capacity for Adams’ first four seasons in Green Bay, so he does have plenty of experience under his belt going up against the duo of Adams and Rodgers.
Though not with Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers did face Davante Adams with the Raiders just last season. In that game, he caught 13 passes on 20 targets for 172 yards and two touchdowns. But the Steelers still won, so even a dominant day from Adams doesn’t necessarily spell doom.
The Steelers have plenty to worry about even with out Adams, however. Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers, or some competent version of it. And he still has Garrett Wilson to throw to, and Breece Hall to carry the ball. Really, Davante Adams is just another wrinkle.
While the Jets are sitting at just 2-4 on the season, their offense is full of talent. The Steelers will need the best out of CBs Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson in this one against Adams and Garrett. And that’s just the first part of the equation. We didn’t even talk about the talent that the Jets have on defense, which can step up at any moment.
