The New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers have had some memorable matchups through the years, ranging from the 2004 divisional round to the 2010 AFC championship.
One of the biggest is yet to come.
With the Steelers unofficially welcoming four-time NFL MVP and former Jet quarterback Aaron Rodgers to their roster on Thursday afternoon, both sides can turn their eyes to a highly entertaining Week 1 showdown – one that pits Rodgers against the team he failed with over the last two years.
Jets Schedule Takes New Meaning
Rodgers being linked to the Steelers is nothing new. This has been in the works for a while, and it was only a matter of time before the former Packer legend donned the Black and Gold.
This does, however, add new meaning to the Jets’ schedule.
When Rodgers chose to join Gang Green in 2023, the hope was that he would usher in an era of winning football for New York. That didn’t happen. Rodgers played in just 18 games over two seasons and won six starts (playing four snaps in one of those).
After a tumultuous year in 2024, the Jets (with new head coach Aaron Glenn) chose to part ways with the future Hall-of-Famer.
Rodgers wasn’t exactly pleased with that decision, and he let the world know.
“That was an interesting two years to say the least, but I figured that when I flew across the country on my own dime, that there was going to be a conversation,” Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show this offseason. “And the confusing thing to me – and the strange thing – was when I went out there I meet with the coach… we start talking, he runs out of the room.”
The fact that the Jets and Steelers are set to kick off the 2025 season at MetLife Stadium should surprise no one. The NFL schedule-makers wanted key matchups at different time slots. They get a revenge game for three different groups: Jets fans, Justin Fields, and their former quarterback.
For Rodgers, he will try to use Week 1 as a sort of revenge against Glenn and the Jets franchise for moving on from him. For Fields, he will take on the team who benched him in 2024 despite a 4-2 start. It blew up in Pittsburgh’s face, but Fields took it to heart, and can make his former team pay.
In the case of Jets fans, they hoped Rodgers would finally be their savior at quarterback – one who could end the decades of futility and embarrassment. All he did, though, was write a new chapter of embarrassment, and he left kicking and screaming.
Jets fans won’t be happy with how Rodgers failed them – and proceeded to take shots at their team. They’ll get a golden opportunity to show that to kick off the 2025 season.
