The NFL’s sense of humor is palpable through the results of its annual schedule release. Aaron Rodgers is still playing with the Steelers like a kitten swiping at a laser pointer, but the league’s scheduling czar, Howard Katz still anticipates he’ll be on hand when they visit Justin Fields and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in Week 1.
As the NFL gets around to automating its schedule-making to artificial intelligence, some things are better left to the human touch. Fields heading back to Pittsburgh with a grudge and a green jersey sparks intrigue. Rodgers in New York creates a must-see concoction. Fields started the first six games of the Steelers' 2024 season and played administrative football rather than try to win games on his own. Heroball has put Fields in a precarious situation.
He fumbled more than any other quarterback between 2021 and 2023 and often placed near the bottom of starting quarterbacks in advanced metrics. Last season, Fields protected the football, and his reward was to be converted into a short-distance gadget quarterback. Fields was a good sport after his benching, but if he gets vengeance against the Jets, it would be justified.
Fields’ hype has always outpaced his actual play, but the Steelers would have egg on their faces if they lost their season opener to the Jets. It would reflect even more poorly on them if Fields finally makes the Sam Darnold leap and resembles a franchise quarterback.
Which Aaron Rodgers will show up in 2025?
Chiefly, the opening game on Pittsburgh’s schedule also serves as a tempo-setter for the remainder of the season which is less about Fields making the leap in Week 1, and more about Rodgers continued creeping toward washed status.
Rodgers started that descent when he ruptured his Achilles in his Jets debut nearly two years ago. Then, in his only healthy season with the New York Jets, Rodgers pruned under the bright lights. In consecutive losses, he threw game-ending picks against the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings. It’s bad enough his skills are diminished. He was benched, prickly with coaches, temperamental with the media, and unreliable.
In recent years, he’s expressed a me-first attitude as well as a strong aversion to reporting to team mini-camps unless they’re on his terms. Rodgers seemed more interested in becoming the next Alex Trebek than in devoting himself to quarterback.
After snubbing Shedeur Sanders through four rounds or any of the rookie quarterbacks in this draft, Pittsburgh’s season rests on if Rodger ever dots the I’s on a freelance contract with the Steelers and how he looks because they certainly won’t get far with Mason Rudolph.
If Rodgers shows up slinging the ball like Chad Pennington the Steelers season will circle the drain quickly. New York’s defense still has some venom in its bite. Last year, Rodgers failed in the eyes of advanced metrics and the eye test. He’s lost some horsepower on his spiral but still might be an upgrade over Mason Rudolph, which is a testament to how badly they bungled the quarterback position this offseason. Rodgers’ half of this is purely theoretical though, because we’re in the third month of his inexplicably long decision-making process.
Mike Tomlin can’t afford a slow start to the season. The Jets aren’t an automatic W. However, they’re one of the winnable games on their schedule. In a stacked AFC and a suffocating division, it’s important to leap quickly out of the gates. The Steelers seemingly learned that lesson last season, but not enough to trade for or draft a franchise quarterback.
The league knew exactly what they were doing by setting Fields — and potentially Rodgers — up with an early litmus test.