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Aaron Rodgers final stats: Pittsburgh QB gets revenge on former team as he throws for four touchdowns in win over Jets

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The NFL schedule makers love crafting the Week 1 slate to draw maximum interest. It’s not uncommon for quarterbacks who have changed teams to face their old squad to start the season, giving the league something to market.

Week 1 of the 2025 season delivered a double dose of that. The Steelers traveled to take on the Jets, where Pittsburgh faced last year’s quarterback, Justin Fields, while New York got a familiar visitor of its own.

Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers returned to MetLife Stadium, where he played home games the past two seasons with the Jets. Expected to retire after this season, it felt almost poetic that he began it facing the team he just left.

Rodgers looked like he had turned back the clock on his arm. While he wasn’t as elusive as he had been in the past, he was still accurate in the passing game. Rodgers impressed with four passing touchdowns and nearly 250 yards against his former team. He adjusted to the Arthur Smith run-heavy offense and combined some short checkdowns, with some deep shots down the field. The game was decided by a fourth-quarter game-winning drive by Rodgers that ended with Steelers kicker Chris Boswell nailing a 61-yard field goal for the 34-32 win. 

The Sporting News has you covered with updates and highlights as Rodgers and the Steelers beat the Jets. 

STREAM: Watch Steelers vs. Jets live with Paramount+

Steelers vs. Jets final score

 

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Aaron Rodgers final Week 1 stats

  • Completions: 22
  • Pass attempts: 30
  • Passing yards: 244
  • TDs: 4
  • INTs: 0
  • Passer rating: 136.7

Steelers vs. Jets updates, highlights from NFL Week 1 game

All times ET. 

6:06 p.m. — Looking back at Rodgers’ debut with the Steelers, it ended up being a historic performance. Per CBS, Rodgers is the first player in the last 60 years to have at least 240 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in their team debut. 

4:48 p.m. — All week leading up to the game, Rodgers was very general when talking about the Jets. He didn’t really mention new head coach Aaron Glenn by name. Many believed that he just didn’t want to give his former team any bulletin board material. 

After the game though, all bets were off and Rodgers was honest about the game. He was asked how he felt about beating Glenn and the Jets and he said, “I’m just happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets.

4:08 p.m. — The Steelers defense held strong, with Jalen Ramsey coming up with some huge pass breakups to ensure the Jets didn’t convert a first down. Rodgers’ second-to-last drive will indeed be a game-winner as the Boswell field goal put them up by two points. 

Rodgers wins in his debut. 

4:03 p.m. — The Steelers got the ball back with 3:13 left in the game, trailing the Jets by a point. Rodgers found Freiermuth for a nine-yard gain, and then tried to go deep for Austin III, but the Jets defender got flagged for a defensive pass interference call. This moved them up to their own 48-yard line. Rodgers hit Metcalf on a slant who bobbled the ball. It went off him, off a defender, off Jonny Smith and then fell into Metcalf’s chest who had fallen on the ground. 

Rodgers threw a quick pass to the left for Austin III for a one-yard gain to get to the two-minute warning. On the other side of the two-minute warning, Rodgers hit Jonnu Smith, but it was a two-yard loss. After a Pittsburgh timeout, Rodgers had an incomplete pass to Austin III. This set up a 61-yard field goal for Boswell, and he middled it for Pittsburgh to go up two with 1:03 left. It’s a new career long for Boswell. 

3:50 p.m. — The Steelers needed to burn some clock and make their way down the field after a long Jets scoring drive. They had a three-and-out. Rodgers found Gainwell on first down, but the running back lost five yards on the play. Rodgers then had an incompletion, and was sacked on third down which forced the Steelers to punt. 

3:28 p.m. — Steelers got the ball back quickly as the Jets fumbled the following kickoff. Warren ran the ball on first down, and on second down, Rodgers hit a wide open Calvin Austin III for his fourth touchdown of the game, this one an 18-yard score. After the extra point, the Steelers are now up 31-26. 

3:22 p.m. — Rodgers and the Steelers take the field again with 3:41 left in the third quarter. Rookie running back Kaleb Johnson took a ball to the left and tried to go out of bounds, but got hit after he did so Pittsburgh got a fresh set of downs and a free 15 yards. 

Rodgers tries to fire one into Metcalf on a slant, but it was knocked away by Sauce Gardner. Rodgers dropped back on second down, and you can tell that the 41-year-old isn’t his usual limber self. You could see that his brain said scramble, but his body kept him statuesque. He found Jaylen Warren for a 17-yard gain. 

After a first down rush, Rodgers looked again to scramble, but didn’t end up going anywhere, and then he found Metcalf coming across the field for an 18-yard gain. 

The Steelers ran the ball on back-to-back plays to set up third and short from the 14-yard line. Pittsburgh ran it again and picked up the first down. This brought the end of the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth, Rodgers went with play action and hit Jaylen Warren for a five-yard score. 

2:58 p.m. — The Steelers got the ball back after a punt. On first down, Rodgers was targeting Calvin Austin III and the ball was very nearly picked. Kenneth Gainwell ran on second down for a gain of five. On third down, Rodgers and the offense went quick because Rodgers saw that New York had 12-men on the field and got the snap off for a free play. The pass fell incomplete, but it doesn’t count thanks to the five-yard penalty and first down.

On the new set of downs, Will McDonald gets another sack on Rodgers, his second of the day, third overall by the Jets. On second down, Rodgers hit Pat Freiermuth for a quick gain of seven. Rodgers was pressured and had a quick dump off to Gainwell for a gain of five and the Steelers will punt. 

2:44 p.m. — On the other side of halftime, the Steelers ran the ball on back-to-back plays for a nine-yard gain, and then no gain. On third-and-short, Rodgers got flagged for a delay of game. Rodgers then tried to fall back after the snap, but got hit as he threw it, and it fell incomplete. 

2:25 p.m. — In his first half as the Steelers quarterback, Rodgers finished 11-14 for 159 yards with two touchdowns. 

2:20 p.m. — Rodgers takes the field with 2:54 left in the first half. After play action, the QB aired the ball a little high, and DK Metcalf couldn’t come down with it. On second and 10, he hits Calvin Austin III for a 30-yard gain. After a run up the middle, the game hits the two-minute warning. 

On the other side of the break, Gainwell ran the ball up the middle to set up third and short. Rodgers hits Jonnu Smith for the first down, as his tight end got one yard more than he needed to move the chains. 

On the following first down, Gainwell got popped and fumbled, but was able to recover it. On second down, Rodgers threw a deep ball to a jumping Calvin Austin III who came down with it at the three-yard line for a gain of 21 yards. Jaylen Warren ran the ball up the middle for no gain on first and then the Steelers did a tight end jet pass with Smith for the touchdown. After the extra point, the Steelers are down 19-17. 

1:55 p.m. — Fields led another scoring drive for the Jets and Rodgers takes over in the second quarter with his team down 16-10. After a two-yard run on first down, Rodgers hit Kenneth Gainwell with a shovel pass, for a gain of four. On third and four, Rodgers got sacked for the second time of the game, this time by Will McDonald. 

We will see our first punt of the game by either team. 

1:40 p.m. — The Jets answered with a touchdown of their own as former Steelers QB Justin Fields found Garrett Wilson for a 33-yard touchdown. Rodgers started the drive with an RPO swing pass to Metcalf, who showcased his speed for a gain of 31 yards. The play ended the first quarter. 

When the second quarter started, Rodgers went for a play-action pass and got away with a likely intentional grounding call when he threw the ball away. After a failed run, Rodgers faced third-and-11, but just checked down to Jonnu Smith for a gain of five. This set up a 56-yard field goal, which Chris Boswell nailed. 

1:20 p.m. — Rookie running back Kaleb Johnson took the kickoff to the 29-yard line. Rodgers took the field to boos from the home Jets crowd.

Rodgers dropped back to pass, but when he stepped up in the pocket, Quinnen Williams got the sack on his former teammate. After Kenneth Gainwell ran it on third down, Rodgers hit Pat Freiermuth for a first down to move the chains. 

After a first down run, Rodgers tried to hit wide receiver DK Metcalf on a crossing route, and it hit him in the hands, but he dropped it. On another third-and-10, Rodgers hit Metcalf on the outside for a few yards, but the receiver was able to shake a defender for a big gain of 23 yards along the sideline.

Rodgers stayed hot on the drive and checked it down to Jonnu Smith on a tight end screen for a gain of six. After a couple of runs, Rodgers fired a dart to Ben Skowronek for a 22-yard touchdown to give the Steelers an early lead. 

On that drive, Rodgers was 4-5 passing for 62 yards and a touchdown. It is also worth noting that he helped the offense convert two separate third-and-10s on the 10-play drive. 

1:10 p.m. — After the Jets drove the field and ended with a field goal, it is time for Rodgers to take the field at MetLife, but this time as a Steeler. 

1:02 p.m. — The game is about to kickoff. Steelers won the toss and decided to defer to the second half. Jets will get the ball first, and Rodgers’ debut drive will be slightly delayed. 

12:15 p.m. — We’ve got out first look at Rodgers in his game day Steelers uniform. The quarterback will be wearing No. 8 this season. 

12:05 p.m. — Inactives are out. Rodgers will not have to face off against his longtime teammate Allen Lazard, who has been ruled out by the Jets. 

11:05 a.m. — Rodgers was only with the Jets for two years, with one of those spent largely on the sideline thanks to his season-ending Achilles injury. Still, in that time, he clearly made an impact and the new Steelers QB spent some time during his pre-game routine saying hello to former teammates. 

10:56 a.m. — Old habits die hard. In his return to MetLife Stadium, Rodgers threw with the equipment manager with whom he would throw during his rehab from his Achilles injury. 

9:57 a.m. — Rodgers is back at MetLife. 

MORE STEELERS-JETS NEWS:

Where to watch Steelers vs. Jets

Steelers vs. Jets start time

  • Date: Sunday, September 7
  • Time: 1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT

The Steelers and Jets will kickoff at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. The game will be held at MetLife Stadium, the same stadium where Rodgers debuted with the Jets in 2023, and promptly suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.

What channel is Steelers vs. Jets on today?

The Week 1 matchup between the Steelers and Jets will air on CBS. It will be available in the teams’ local markets. CBS has four 1 p.m. ET games in Week 1, so other national viewers may not see the game. This is where Paramount+ would come in. Viewers out of market for the game would be able to stream the game on Paramount+. 

MORE NFL: Ranking the best Steelers of all time

Steelers schedule 2025

Week Date Opponent Time (ET) TV
1 9/7 at Jets 1 p.m. CBS
2 9/14 vs. Seahawks 1 p.m. Fox
3 9/21 at Patriots 1 p.m. CBS
4 9/28 vs. Vikings (Ireland) 9:30 a.m. NFL Network
5 10/5 BYE WEEK BYE WEEK BYE WEEK
6 10/12 vs. Browns 1 p.m. CBS
7 10/16 at Bengals (TNF) 8:15 p.m. Prime Video
8 10/26 vs. Packers (SNF) 8:20 p.m. NBC
9 11/2 vs. Colts 1 p.m. CBS
10 11/9 at Chargers (SNF) 8:20 p.m. NBC
11 11/16 vs. Bengals 1 p.m. CBS
12 11/23 at Bears 1 p.m. CBS
13 11/30 vs. Bills 4:25 p.m. CBS
14 12/7 at Ravens 1 p.m. CBS
15 12/15 vs. Dolphins (MNF) 8:15 p.m. ESPN
16 12/21 at Lions 4:25 p.m. CBS
17 12/28 at Browns 1 p.m. CBS
18 TBD vs. Ravens TBD TBD

MORE NFL: Best two-way players in NFL history

Jets schedule 2025

Week Date Opponent Time (ET) TV
1 9/7 vs. Steelers 1 p.m. CBS
2 9/14 vs. Bills 1 p.m. CBS
3 9/21 at Buccaneers 1 p.m. Fox
4 9/29 at Dolphins (MNF) 7:15 p.m. ESPN
5 10/5 vs. Cowboys 1 p.m. Fox
6 10/12 vs. Broncos (London) 9:30 a.m. NFL Network
7 10/19 vs. Panthers 1 p.m. Fox
8 10/26 at Bengals 1 p.m. CBS
9 11/2 BYE WEEK BYE WEEK BYE WEEK
10 11/9 vs. Browns 1 p.m. CBS
11 11/13 at Patriots (TNF) 8:15 p.m. Prime Video
12 11/23 at Ravens 1 p.m. CBS
13 11/30 vs. Falcons 1 p.m. Fox
14 12/7 vs. Dolphins 1 p.m. CBS
15 12/14 at Jaguars 1 p.m. CBS
16 12/21 at Saints 1 p.m. CBS
17 12/28 vs. Patriots 1 p.m. CBS
18 TBD at Bills TBD TBD

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