Jets Star Could Join Steelers Terrible Towel Curse

The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to open their 2025 season with a visit to face the New York Jets. The two historically significant AFC squads are familiar with one another, but they've maintained a respectful competitive spirit in their recent matchups.

While the rivalry between the Steelers and Jets may have reached its last fever pitch during the 2011 AFC Championship, players from each side have some special interests in the coming matchup. Steelers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers will open his 21st season by facing his former team, while the Jets are expected to start Justin Fields, last year's Week 1 starter for Pittsburgh. For the Jets, facing former teammates is a big opportunity for first-year head coach Aaron Glenn and star cornerback Sauce Gardner.

Gardner spoke to the media recently and was asked about playing the Steelers this year and if he had any plans for the organization's Terrible Towel, calling back to his celebration following a win over Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in 2022. This time around, Gardner is a bit more cautious about messing with the Steelers' beloved franchise icon.

"I don't know. Pittsburgh, you get a little in the trenches in there," he told reporters. "I might have to tread lightly."

However, his outlook quickly changed from emphatic no to possibility when he remembered that their game takes place at MetLife Stadium, giving the Jets home-field advantage.

"But we play here, right?" he recalled. "Aww yeah, yeah...We on home court. I don't know. I've got to think about it."

The caution in his answer certainly points to the league wide knowledge of the Curse of the Terrible Towel. Perhaps it's an posthumous gift from the towel's inventor Myron Cope or perhaps it's the football gods enacting their will, but those who choose to besmirch the Terrible Towel often face its wrath.

The most famous of these stories is the T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Cincinnati Bengals incident in 2005. The Bengals defeated the Steelers during a regular-season matchup, and Houshmandzadeh wiped his cleats with the towel before discarding it onto the field. Weeks later, the Steelers enacted their revenge by going into Cincinnati during the Wild Card game and dispatching them en route to a Super Bowl victory.

There are multiple other examples. Most recently, the Jacksonville Jaguars fell victim to the Curse after beating the Steelers in Week 8 of the 2023 season. The Jags came into Pittsburgh, defeated the Steelers, and safety Andrew Wingard drew the ire of fans for snatching a Terrible Towel from the crowd and waving it mockingly. The Jaguars went from 6-3 to a final regular season record of 9-8, missed the playoffs, and then dropped even further to 4-13 in 2024. Wingard played in just eight games this past season for Jacksonville as well.

It makes sense, then, that Gardner treads lightly before the Jets meet the . Gardner is known as a player unafraid to talk smack or get in the minds of his opponents, but it appears even he has a line he won't cross. If he does, however, the Curse of the Terrible Towel could add another name to the list in 2025.