Entering the season-opening matchup Sunday inside MetLife Stadium against his former employer in the New York Jets, a lot of questions surrounded Pittsburgh Steelers 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Could he still play? What would his arm look like? Was his mobility going to be worse than it was last season with the Jets? Would the offensive line hold up long enough for him to make some plays?
Rodgers answered those questions in emphatic fashion in the Steelers’ thrilling 34-32 win over the Jets. The four-time NFL MVP completed 22-of-30 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns. He led a game-winning drive in the process, setting up Chris Boswell’s 60-yard field goal to give the Steelers the late lead in the win.
While Rodgers and the Steelers’ offense were impressive, not everyone is buying into the hype. For one NFL coach, who spoke with The Athletic’s Mike Sando about Rodgers’ performance, there are some sustainability concerns.
“He cannot get away from the rush anymore, but he can move in the pocket and deliver those wrist flicks accurately, with or without his feet on the ground,” the coach told Sando for his piece on The Athletic Monday morning.
Rodgers’ mobility is still a bit of a concern, and at times on Sunday it showed as he was unable to extend plays with the pass rush bearing down on him. That said, he did make plenty of plays off play-action, rolling and firing darts, including the 18-yard touchdown to Calvin Austin III to give the Steelers a lead in the fourth quarter two plays after they recovered a fumble on a kickoff return.
The arm talent still looked very good, too, as he was able to flick the ball all over the yard.
He made some big-time throws, showed off easy accuracy, and really had the offense humming, leaning on offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, whom he credited for calling a great game.
But despite those easy flicks of the wrist that had the ball flying around the field, that same coach is concerned that he could find himself in trouble moving forward, since he had at least one turnover-worthy throw in the game.
“What he has to watch out for is those wrist flicks turn into interceptions later in the year,” the coach told Sando. “The four (TDs) is what everyone sees. Nobody pays attention to the two dropped interceptions or the fact that, just four or five years ago, he’d go five games without one of those.”
Rodgers isn’t what he once was. That’s no secret given his age. Nobody was expecting him to be the four-time NFL MVP in his Steelers tenure. But what he can be is what he showed Sunday, a guy who can run the offense, make the right reads and throws, and play good enough football to help the Steelers win a lot of games.
He won’t have to carry the team every week like he did in the season opener, but it was great to see that the Steelers finally have a QB who can do just that when needed, something they haven’t had since Ben Roethlisberger.
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