Despite having one of the lowest total projected points on the slate, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets provided a lot of excitement in their Week 1 matchup.
This ended up being a back-and-forth battle, as Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields duked it out in a contest of quarterbacks playing their former teams.
Rodgers and the Steelers found a way to take home the win, as he was able to show the NFL world that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, that he’s still someone who can wreck a game plan.
There were a lot of positives to come out of this game for the Steelers, including the breakout of Calvin Austin III.
Austin was a favorite target of Rodgers during this game, putting up 70 yards and a touchdown, and as reporter Jordan Schultz noted on X, people within the Steelers’ organization believe this is only the beginning.
#Steelers WR Calvin Austin III had 70 yards and a TD in Week 1 — and there’s real excitement internally about his trajectory.
There was a lot of offseason talk about who would line up opposite DK Metcalf, but the answer was already in the building: it’s Calvin Austin. pic.twitter.com/TGJaSFG8CI
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 9, 2025
As Schultz pointed out, the Steelers’ pecking order at receiver was unclear, as D.K. Metcalf was slated to be WR1, and there was going to be a mess of players fighting for WR2 after that.
Austin’s performance demonstrated that he’s more than ready to take on a larger role in this offense, and he appeared to have gained Rodgers’ trust, which can be a challenging feat to achieve.
This game was a shootout, so Rodgers had a lot of passing opportunities, but it will be interesting to watch this offense evolve throughout the course of the season.
If they are a pass-first team moving forward, Austin could have a massive season alongside Metcalf.
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