Before Aaron Rodgers had even made up his mind about signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, there was a narrative about him wanting full control of the offense. If there was any doubt about how Rodgers would work with OC Arthur Smith, they answered a lot of questions with their Week 1 performance in a 34-32 win over the New York Jets.
“There’s a lot of garbage being talked about myself or Arthur or whatever out there, how we’re gonna co-exist,” Rodgers said about playing within his new offense in an interview with CBS’ Evan Washburn after the game. “We got a great relationship and he called a really good game. I gotta play a little better in spots, but happy to be 1-0.”
It wasn’t a perfect offensive showing for the Steelers, but 34 points is impressive no matter what the circumstances. Rodgers threw four touchdown passes. From the initial TV angle of the game, it looked like there was a healthy mix of Rodgers running the offense as called and checking in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage.
When asked about his ability to check out of plays earlier this offseason, Rodgers explained their system of having two or three options called in the huddle and it being the quarterback’s job to get the team in the right play.
The play design on Calvin Austin III’s touchdown stuck out to me, for example. He motioned into the backfield and then burst up the middle of the defense for a wide-open touchdown.
Rodgers and Smith had never worked together previously, but Rodgers studied his previous success with QB Ryan Tannehill before his most recent MVP seasons in Green Bay. Also, Smith worked under Green Bay Packers HC Matt LaFleur as a position coach for one season in Tennessee before taking over as the coordinator. There was enough familiarity with the scheme and philosophy to make an easy transition.
The season is long, and one success will not tell the story of the Rodgers-Smith relationship. But there is no denying they had an excellent start together with a gutsy win on the road in Week 1.
