The New York Jets host the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first game of the regular season at Metlife Stadium. In terms of home openers this has the makings to be a classic. There is more to this game than just Jets vs Steelers. The main stories surrounding this game are Aaron Rodgers is returning to play his former team the Jets in Metlife Stadium and Justin Fields playing his former team in the Steelers. It all stems from the changes they made this off season to their teams record and performance last season.
Last season, the Jets finished the season 5-12 but it was a roller coaster of a year. It involved so many roster changes, coaching changes, new headlines each week, and lots of drama. The Jets had a lot of expectations last season looking to get Aaron Rodgers back after he tore his achilles the year prior. They fired head coach Robert Saleh after a Week 5 loss to the Vikings. Saleh and Aaron Rodgers didn’t have the best relationship between a player and a coach. Along with this Aaron Rodgers had a strong grip all over the organization.
Davante Adams would be traded to the Jets on October 15 and would make his debut the upcoming Sunday the 20th. Rodgers would also appear on the Pat Mcafee show frequently and it was just chaos all season. At the end of the year the Jets released Aaron Rodgers. In the offseason the highlight moves were the Jets signing Justin Fields and hiring former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as the franchises next head coach. Aaron Glenn is already establishing a culture and Justin Fields has a lot of pressure on him as this could be his last chance being a starting caliber quarterback in the NFL.
The Steelers have always been competitive as long as Mike Tomlin has been the head coach. He posted 18 straight seasons of having a team over .500 never having a losing season in his entire coaching tenure with the Steelers. There is a downside to this though and it comes up every time Pittsburgh makes the playoffs. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2017 in the divisional round against the Chiefs. Last Season there were a lot of eyebrows raised because once again they lost in the first round and there was the potential of the Steelers letting Tomlin go.
In the offseason the Steelers went to work. They traded George Pickens to the Cowboys, re-signed T.J Watt, traded for D.K Metcalf, signed Darius Slay, and traded for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith. Lastly, Aaron Rodgers signed on a one-year deal which could potentially be his final season in the league. There is expectation waving around this season. Aaron Rodgers is looking to finish his hall of fame career with a bang, the defense is improved, the offense is better, and has one of the best coaches in the NFL.
September 7 is a must tune in game for NFL fans. It’s a new era for both teams as these teams mirror each other. Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers are looking to prove to themselves and the doubters saying they weren’t the problem. Aaron Rodgers looks to add more into his legacy and Justin Fields looks to become the star QB that the fans and Jets know he can become.
