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Aaron Rodgers Taunts Booing Jets Fans After Stellar 4-TD Debut Leads Steelers to Win
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Last season, Aaron Rodgers had, without a doubt, one of the most topsy-turvy and controversial seasons of his career. This time, he walked back into the same place where it had taken place, just that he was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey.

The New York Jets had invested a lot into the 4-time league MVP, but he could not deliver last season. After the end of their 3-year experiment, the franchise decided to part ways and restart from scratch.

Rodgers, on the other hand, finally signed with the Steelers, hoping to finish his stellar career on a high note. Unsurprisingly, the NFL saw this as an opportunity to create drama and scheduled the two AFC teams to open the season together.

The Jets had the upper hand early on, sacking their former quarterback on the 1st snap. Even though the home team’s defense was playing at an elite level, Aaron Rodgers still found a way to get his new team to score a touchdown.

This back-and-forth went on throughout the game, and at one point, it seemed the Jets were about to get some sweet revenge. However, the Chino native came up clutch, delivering throws in the face of pressure and finishing the game with 4 touchdowns.

Thanks to a Chris Boswell career-high field goal, the Steelers hung on to win the game 34-32. After the game, as Rodgers was walking off along with head coach Mike Tomlin and Cameron Heyward, he was being heckled by some Jets fans.

Hearing this, the 41-year-old placed his hand on his ear and taunted his former fans as they booed him. The mercurial QB was savoring his revenge after 3 years of facing all the noise.

Aaron Rodgers happy to beat the Jets

The entire focus of the New York media was on this game, as Aaron Rodgers returned to face his former team, and the New York Jets ushered in a new era.

After the game, they asked him about his meeting with Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, and how he made it clear the Super Bowl champion QB was not part of their plans. When he confirmed the details of that meeting, the reporter asked Rodgers if it was significant to beat Glenn.

I was happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets.

Aaron Rodgers replied

Rodgers had a sarcastic smile at the end of that answer, possibly indicating how he was happy to beat everyone who made him the scapegoat for the organization’s mistakes.

He finished the game with 244 yards, while throwing an efficient 22-30, 4 of which were caught for touchdowns. The only concern was that he was sacked 4 times, some of which were the offensive line’s fault, and some due to his reduced mobility. Even then, this was a great debut.

Aaron Rodgers’ replacement gives Jets hopes of a better season

When new head coach Aaron Glenn took over, he wanted to start his tenure without Aaron Rodgers at the most important position. The locker room turmoil, the age, and his diminishing skills were a concern.

Instead, they went younger, poaching Justin Fields from the Pittsburgh Steelers. At 15 years younger, the Ohio State star was probably a better bet to build chemistry with the other younger players.

That seemed to have paid off, as Fields had a debut that should give New York Jets fans hope that this season could be the start of something new.

He threw for 218 yards and ran for another 48. His 3 combined touchdowns helped his new team build leads over his old team. If only they could have executed on 3rd and 4th-down plays, he would have had a winning debut.

Nevertheless, his performance was good enough, and the Jets should look for areas of improvement when they prepare to take on two more playoff teams over the next 2 weeks.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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