Fair enough. Rodgers, like most professional athletes, professes not to listen to outside noise. And Rodgers, again like most, absolutely does. He noted that he heard the catcalls and the boobirds. Rodgers has never made a secret of being motivated by slights and doubts. So, yes, he and Tomlin can say he was indifferent to the opponent. And then Rodgers put on a clinic, finding a new favorite target in DK Metcalf, managing duress, especially when his offensive line struggled to protect him on play-action passes, and leading drive after drive in a seesaw game. Rodgers is certainly not as mobile as he once was, but he is still creative, and accurate and nimble enough to move out of trouble, still as cool and confident as ever. On Sunday, he was exactly what the Steelers hoped they were getting when they waited for him.
“I just thought he was game all day,” Tomlin said. “That’s why I was confident.”
The Steelers were uncharacteristically active this offseason, importing veterans to try to boost a team that consistently makes the playoffs into one that wins in the playoffs. It is not just Rodgers (22-of-30, 244 yards, four touchdowns), but also Metcalf (four receptions, 83 yards) and Jalen Ramsey, who delivered a booming hit on Jets receiver Garrett Wilson, which dislodged the ball on fourth down as the Jets tried for their own game-winning drive in the waning minute of the game.
Tomlin was delighted by what he called “the new Steelers,” but a performance like this, in truth, will only get the Steelers so far and nowhere near as far as they want to go. It was, as Rodgers put it, a “coach’s dream journal,” a tape that ends in a victory but also contains plenty of things that need to be corrected. The Steelers will need more, particularly from their running game and the defense, which struggled to contain Justin Fields‘ legs, if they are to make inroads in the AFC. The Jets have further to go, of course, but they are in the middle of a culture change and a reboot, and this game gave them plenty of hope, even if Glenn isn’t into moral victories.
The Steelers aren’t looking for a culture change. They haven’t needed one since the late Dan Rooney identified Chuck Noll as the next head coach. That solid foundation has allowed Rodgers to slip into the franchise, rather than stand astride it as he did the Jets. Freed from that responsibility, and from the recovery from his Achilles tear, Rodgers has been rejuvenated. In training camp, he looked healthier but also happier.