Well, it didn't former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers long at all to prove he still has what it takes to compete at a high level, did it? And if they didn't realize it already, the New York Jets now have to realize that the four-time NFL MVP really wasn't the reason for their woes a season ago.
In his first outing in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform, which also marked the first of two matchups against a former employer in 2025, Rodgers played a fantastic game of football, completing 22 of 30 passes for 244 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions in a wild 34-32 win for his new team.
For a moment, it seemed as if the 41-year-old's performance would go to waste, as the Jets took a 32-31 lead with just over seven minutes to play when Justin Fields, who played a great game of his own, waltzed into the end zone untouched.
But after the teams traded possessions, Rodgers moved his team down the field just far enough and watched Chris Boswell drill a 60-yard field goal with 1:03 remaining to give the Steelers a two-point lead, and then watched the Steelers' defense, Jalen Ramsey, in particular, seal the deal with a stop.
Aaron Rodgers delivered a revenge game performance Packers fans know well
As Packers fans well know, Rodgers is typically at his best when playing with a chip on his shoulder—let's be honest here; that's pretty often—and he wasted no time getting to work against Gang Green. On the Steelers' opening offensive possession, he connected on four of five passes for 62 yards, the last going for a 22-yard touchdown to Ben Skowronek.
Just before halftime, Rodgers connected with Jonnu Smith for a three-yard touchdown. And early in the fourth quarter, he threw for two scores in 50 seconds, first tossing a five-yarder to Jaylen Warren and then finding Calvin Austin III on an 18-yarder after the Steelers had forced a fumble on the kickoff following the Warren touchdown.
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Sunday marked the 35th time Rodgers has thrown for four touchdowns in a regular-season game, and he's the first Steelers quarterback to do so since Ben Roethlisberger in 2020. And as one would imagine, he had no problem getting a little petty in his post-game presser, saying he was "happy to beat everyone associated with the Jets."
The second time Rodgers will face a former team, of course, will be in Week 8 when Green Bay travels to Pittsburgh for a highly anticipated matchup on Sunday Night Football, and Cheesheads obviously have to be hoping things go differently. Because can you imagine what a post-game presser looks like if Rodgers does to the Packers what he did to the Jets?