It wasn’t pretty, but there are no style points in football.
All that matters is what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, and on Sunday it showed the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the New York Jets 34-32, at MetLife Stadium to move to 1-0 on the season.
On a day in which the Steelers couldn’t do much of anything right defensively, 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers was everything the Steelers hoped he would be. He threw four touchdown passes and led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter to defeat his old team, dragging the Steelers to a season-opening win in thrilling fashion.
There’s plenty of things to clean up coming out of this one, and there are some injuries to be concerned about — namely DeShon Elliott’s knee. But a win is a win, and the Steelers are on the right side of the win-loss column entering Week 2.
Let’s get to some grades.
QB — A-
After all the questions this offseason about what Aaron Rodgers had left in the tank, he answered them emphatically. For one week, at least.
Rodgers completed 22-of-30 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns, finding Ben Skowronek, Jonnu Smith, Jaylen Warren and Calvin Austin III for scores. He later drove the Steelers into field goal position, setting up Chris Boswell’s game-winner from 60 yards.
A lot of Rodgers’ work was around the line of scrimmage, getting the ball out quickly and allowing guys to catch and run and make plays. But when he did push the ball down the field he made some plays, like his throw to Austin for a score, another throw to Austin setting up Warren’s touchdown, and even his strike down the field late in the game to Austin drawing a pass interference penalty, putting the Steelers in field goal range quickly.
He was smart with the football, threw with accuracy, and got the Steelers into the right looks time and time again, leading to one heck of a performance by the Steelers’ offense.
RB — C+
The Steelers didn’t run the football all that well Sunday, generating just 53 yards on 20 carries. But they were able to run the football when it mattered in the second half, generating some offense as the line got going with Jaylen Warren in the backfield.
Warren finished with 11 carries for 37 yards, but his best work came as a receiver. He finished with two catches for 22 yards and a touchdown, hauling in a score on an easy pitch-and-catch from 5 yards out on a great design by Arthur Smith. He also had a huge 17-yard catch-and-run to move the chains at one point in the game, giving the Steelers a bit of a spark.
Kenneth Gainwell out-snapped Warren on the afternoon 29-25, but he didn’t do much with the extensive playing time. Gainwell finished with seven carries for 19 yards and had three receptions for four yards. He fumbled once, too, but was fortunate enough to recover it.
He also allowed a sack to Quincy Williams in the fourth quarter, struggling to pick up a blitz long enough for Rodgers to get the ball out.
WR — B
A nice Steelers debut for DK Metcalf. He said he wasn’t worried about the offense earlier in the week despite no preseason action, and his play backed that up. Metcalf hauled in four passes for 83 yards and was outstanding after the catch, ripping off catch-and-runs of 23 and 31 yards.
He did have a drop on his first target of the game, but he made one heck of a catch late in the game on a double deflection that found its way into his hands, putting the Steelers in Boswell’s field goal range.
Calvin Austin III is the clear-cut WR2 on the roster and has great chemistry with Rodgers. Austin hauled in four passes for 70 yards and a touchdown and drew a huge pass interference penalty late in the fourth quarter to put the Steelers near midfield. He should have had a second one on the Steelers’ final offensive play but didn’t get the second flag.
Ben Skowronek was wide open on his 22-yard touchdown and took advantage of the playing time offensively, while Roman Wilson and Scotty Miller didn’t see a target.
TE — B+
A nice performance from the tight end room that Rodgers talked up all offseason.
Pat Freiermuth had three receptions for 28 yards, taking advantage of space in the middle of the field and coming through with big catches. He also had a great block on Jonnu Smith’s touchdown, burying Jets safety Andre Cisco on the perimeter. His blocking looked a bit better today, which is encouraging.
Smith had five receptions for just 15 yards, but he found the end zone at least. There just wasn’t much work down the field for him. A lot of work in the quick screen game to give him an opportunity to make plays after the catch. Hopefully next week the Steelers let him run routes farther down the field and try to find him more in the passing game.
OL — D-
There were a few stretches in the game, particularly in the second half, where the Steelers ran the football at a decent clip. But they just weren’t able to consistently create movement at the point of attack Sunday and really struggled to have a balanced attack due to the run game.
A total of 53 yards on 20 carries just isn’t going to cut it.
Pass protection was a bit worse, too, especially from Broderick Jones.
Rodgers was sacked four times and the Jets were credited with seven quarterback hits. Jones was a disaster in pass protection. But it was his first start since his rookie season at LT, and he went against a pair of good pass rushers in Will McDonald IV and Jermaine Johnson. He has plenty to clean up.
I need to see Isaac Seumalo be the player the Steelers expect him to be, primarily in the run game. He just didn’t create any movement up front and looked lackluster. It was concerning. But it’s early.
DL — D+
Allowing 182 rushing yards on 39 carries, good for 4.7 yards per carry, just simply won’t cut it for the Steelers. After all the work they did this offseason to beef up the defensive line and better defend the run, they got gashed from start to finish Sunday.
Fortunately, they were able to get a win as the Jets became a pass-first team late in catch-up mode. But the Steelers had no answer for the Jets’ run game.
Cameron Heyward really struggled in the season opener. Though he had three tackles, one tackle for loss and batted one pass that was nearly intercepted by Keeanu Benton, he wasn’t his usual self against the run. He wasn’t able to get off blocks all that quickly and really didn’t have an answer for the Jets’ run game.
Neither did Benton, who was pushed around throughout the game. For all the talk about changing his body this offseason to better suit nose tackle, he really struggled. The dropped interception really hurt, too.
Isaiahh Loudermilk is a fine backup defensive lineman, but when he has to play a large number of snaps he’s a major liability. He was pushed around and didn’t create much of anything. Daniel Ekuale was a bit of a disappointment in his first game as a Steeler, and Yahya Black wasn’t all that impactful after a dominant preseason.
He should have had a sack in the second half, but just couldn’t finish.
Hopefully this group is way better next week.
LB — C+
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith were really good in this one. Watt finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss and knocked down one pass at the line of scrimmage. He was good against the run all game too and even blew up Justin Fields on one read-option after he gave the ball to Breece Hall.
Highsmith had a sack and finished with eight tackles and three quarterback hits. While the Jets had a lot of success running to Highsmith’s side of the defense, I thought he played really well and was consistent as a pass rusher, too.
Jack Sawyer was the backup OLB on the afternoon with Nick Herbig inactive, and held his own in limited snaps. He had one tackle, but he was also in on the play Fields snuck one in for a score.
Inside, Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson racked up some tackles, but they slow to get off blocks and weren’t as effective against the run as you’d hope with how athletic those two are. Getting off of blocks has always been an issue for those two, so when they can’t slip or run around blocks, it could be all long day, like it was Sunday.
Queen did have a huge play late in the game on a third-down blitz, getting to Fields to force an incompletion, setting up the fourth-down play that the Steelers won the game on.
DB — B-
I loved the play Jalen Ramsey made to win the game. It was the exact type of play the Steelers brought him in for. He’s a physical player, and he dished out a clean, punishing hit to separate Garrett Wilson from the ball, winning the game for the Steelers. He had three tackles, broke up two passes and had one quarterback hit in the win, which sparked a sideline melee with Heyward and Jets guard John Simpson.
But that QB hit sent a message and sparked the Steelers in some ways.
Losing DeShon Elliott early in the game (MetLife turf strikes again) was a big blow, but Chuck Clark stepped up and tied for the team lead in tackles with eight. He also had a key tackle for loss on Fields, forcing a punt in the fourth quarter.
Juan Thornhill had eight tackles, too, so it’s discouraging seeing both safeties tie for the team lead in tackles. But he was sound. He did miss one play trying to break up a pass that led to a big gain for the Jets, but you’d rather say whoa than sic ’em, like Mike Tomlin likes to say.
Joey Porter Jr.’s hamstring injury might not be much of a concern, but his play Sunday was just a bit. He had just one tackle and gave up a handful of completions when the Jets targeted Garrett Wilson.
Darius Slay was a real problem. He had a bad missed tackle in the backfield early in the game that turned what should have be a 4-yard loss into a 3-yard gain for Hall and then was cooked on an over route by Wilson for a 33-yard touchdown. Later, he didn’t stick with Fields on the naked bootleg, leading to a walk-in touchdown.
Brandin Echols had a nice tackle in space on Fields to set up the 4th and goal, chopping Fields down in space with good technique.
Special Teams — B
Chris Boswell is the best kicker in the NFL. Period. Nobody else is in the discussion.
Boswell drilled a career-best 60 yarder to give the Steelers the lead late in the win. It would have been good from 70+. He absolutely crushed it. That’s what he does. He also nailed a 56 yarder in the win, too.
Corliss Waitman had an up-and-down performance punting the football. He averaged 47.5 yards on four punts on the afternoon and had one downed inside the 20-yard line. But he had punts of 46 and 44 yards in the first and second half when the Steelers needed big ones.
Fortunately on the 44-yard punt he was bailed out by a block in the back penalty for the Jets, backing New York up farther. Consistency was an issue last season and a key concern when the Steelers went with him over Cameron Johnston at punter.
In the return game, the Steelers really struggled in coverage. Kenneth Gainwell’s forced fumble was massive and changed the game, but prior to that the Steelers didn’t really have answers in that department. The Jets averaged nearly 30 yards on seven kick returns, and Xavier Gipson nearly housed one early in the game, returning it 40 yards.
That has to be cleaned up.
So, too, do the penalties. Connor Heyward’s penalty was a bad one. A completely unnecessary play. He’s a smart player and is better than that. The illegal formation penalty ultimately worked out for the Steelers as they stopped the 2-point try and won by two points. But it’s fundamental stuff that needs cleaned up.
The Kaleb Johnson fumble on kickoff return was a concern, too. He continues to look uncomfortable returning kicks and looks slow. Let Kenneth Gainwell be the primary guy, though it really depends on who teams kick it to with the new rules.
