Following each game in the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers season I will once again be giving you my 10 takes. These aren’t going to be hot takes meant to shock the world. These will be instant reactions written just following the game when the emotions are high, and the ideas are fresh. Included will be thoughts, observations, queries, and reasons that caused me to yell at the television. Here’s 10 thoughts from today’s game between the Steelers and New York Jets.
Regular-Season Week 1 vs. New York Jets
1. Survivor Pool – For those who have never been in a survivor pool the idea is to pick a team each week to win and you advance. You lose and you’re out. That is what this feels like. Not the easy win you hoped for, but you get to exhale and enjoy the victory. There was a lot of bad in this game and there was some good as well. The defense did not play like we had hoped. Conversely, the offense may have been better than we expected. And Chris Boswell is just *chef’s kiss* so damn good. The Steelers survived and got the win. That’s what counts in the end.
2. Stop? No. Slow? No. Shocked? Yes. – After giving up 299 rushing yards in their playoff game last season, much of the Steelers’ offseason was spent trying to rebuild their defense up front to stop the run. That was a big, fat fail in Week 1. The front seven was porous. Cam Heyward was on the ground too much in the first half. The linebackers were either slow to react or took themselves out of the play. Nobody was getting off blocks. A total of 182 yards and three rushing touchdowns is not how you wanted to start the season. It was slightly better in the second half but there’s a lot of work to be done.
3. Win-Win – The unofficial swap of quarterbacks between the Steelers and Jets seemed to be a positive for both teams. Justin Fields had a wonderful game with 266 total yards and three touchdowns. I think the Jets are happy with their side so far. Pittsburgh got a four-touchdown performance from Aaron Rodgers despite having Jets pass rushers in his face for the entire game. Quick decision making and quick releases saved the offense from a couple of sacks. Positives from both teams to start 2025.
4. Jonesing for a Pass Blocker – I talked about it in this week’s Keys to Victory. Josh Carney addressed it more specifically in his Four Key Matchups as well. The Steelers’ young tackles versus the edge rushers. For the record, I think the entire offensive line struggled to pass block against the Jets. However, watching it live it seemed Broderick Jones in particular really struggled. It’s just one game and a small sample size for this season but the schedule is full of premier pass rushers. He needs to step it up immediately moving forward.
5. B15 on the Bingo Card – If you had Ben Skowronek scoring the Steelers’ first touchdown of the season I applaud you. Wide open on a crossing route for his only catch opened up the Steelers’ scoring. And he’s not just tied for the leading scorer on the team. He had a tackle on kickoff coverage and recovered a fumble forced by Kenneth Gainwell. He also helped force multiple fair catches on punt coverage. You have to love it when the non-starters make their mark on the game.
6. Not Especially Special – While the previous blurb has some praise for special teams this one does not. An illegal formation on an extra point. It didn’t hurt the Steelers but was an inexcusable mistake. Kaleb Johnson fumbling on a kick return. Kick coverage allowed over 29 yards per return. The field goal block team ran out prematurely on a fourth down causing confusion and costing a timeout when the defense only had 10 men on the field. And Connor Heyward with a late shove of an opponent for absolutely no reason that cost the team 15 yards of field position is just plain stupid. Danny Smith has to tighten the screws on this bunch.
7. Mostly Good but Why Do it Twice – If you look at the overall game plan, especially the passing game, I think Arthur Smith had a good game. If you look at the three touchdown passes that went past the line of scrimmage, every one of those pass catchers were wide open. Adding Rodgers allows a little more freedom for the offense. However, on the final two drives, including for the game-winning field goal, there were some why play calls. The first was a screen to Gainwell that lost five yards that started a three-and-out series. The second on the final drive was another screen, this one to Jonnu Smith, which lost two yards that made the game-winning field goal even longer. With the pressure Rodgers was under, I guess he was hoping to catch the defense being aggressive but twice?
8. Who’s the New Guy? – Welcome aboard, Chuck Clark. Losing DeShon Elliott early in the game could have had dire consequences. Clark had to play more due to that injury, and he made himself known in this game. He led the team with eight tackles. One of those tackles was a tackle for a loss on Fields that led to a punt late in the game. Additionally, on the next kickoff he forced the runner out of bounds in the open field preventing a bigger return. A key veteran signing to a safety group that was thin is helping already.
9. Zone of Interest – Maybe it was the early touchdown to Garrett Wilson, who beat Darius Slay in man coverage, helped make the decision. But it seemed to me that the defense played a lot of zone coverage, which Fields was able to pick apart. It would seem against Fields you would want to play man coverage more often to make him throw into tighter windows. It was an interesting decision, and I am curious to seeing the man versus zone numbers. On a side note, Patrick Queen was about an inch away from four pass breakups in zone coverage. He’s going to make some plays there.
10. Timing is Everything – The trade to bring in Jalen Ramsey was an exciting one. Bringing in a player with his pedigree was a boost on the back end of this defense. He had a quiet game overall with three tackles. But big-time players make big-time plays. When it was needed most on the final drive is when he made the plays. Two pass breakups on the final drive, the only pass breakups the defense had other than deflected passes by T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, were just what the doctor ordered.
