Coming off the field at MetLife Stadium on Sunday evening, former New York Jets quarterback and now Pittsburgh Steelers signal-caller Aaron Rodgers couldn’t contain his excitement.

In Pittsburgh’s 34-32 win over New York, Rodgers threw four touchdown passes. To him, he proved to the Jets, the same team that released him in the offseason, that he could still be an elite quarterback.

Rodgers took that giddiness into the locker room immediately after the game.

“There are probably people in the organization who didn’t think I could play anymore,” Rodgers said. “It was nice to show that I still can.

“I was happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets.”

While Rodgers and the Steelers came away victorious on Sunday, the Jets put up the kind of fight that should make their fanbase proud. By the end of the 2025 campaign, New York might even get the last laugh.

Jets to get last laugh over Rodgers

Everything Rodgers and the Steelers do together this year is tied to a championship. It’s also more finite than anything the Jets will do in their first year under new head coach Aaron Glenn.

At 41 years old, Rodgers only has a year or two left. He could very well retire after this season.

What happens if he ends up walking away from the game, and ultimately doesn’t win a championship? All his bravado about beating his former team kind of goes by the wayside, doesn’t it?

New York, meanwhile, has one of the youngest rosters in the sport. If the Jets make the playoffs this season, it will be a resounding success. Even if they get more wins than in their lone year with Rodgers as their starting quarterback (5), that will be seen as a successful year as well.

Pittsburgh has many issues currently to deal with. Their coaching staff has looked unprepared in past years, and they haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. Rodgers, despite how strong he looked on Sunday, isn’t going to change life forever for the Black and Gold.

He may be a four-time NFL MVP, and he may have a Super Bowl ring, but Rodgers hasn’t gotten back to a Super Bowl since 2011. That includes being a part of some great teams along the way in Green Bay.

Chances are, he won’t be reaching the top of the mountain in Pittsburgh.

And if the Steelers and Jets both end up failing to reach a Super Bowl, then who really got the last laugh after all? New York has begun a new era full of possibilities.

Pittsburgh’s future is clouded, whether Rodgers returns in 2026 or not.