Steelers HC Mike Tomlin calls out this positional group after Jets win

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be starting the 2025 season off victorious after a hard-fought win over the New York Jets on Sunday. Pittsburgh was able to escape MetLife Stadium with a narrow 34-32 win over New York, in what was a successful homecoming for Aaron Rodgers. The quarterback performed well, and the offensive side of the football was not an issue for the Steelers during their season opener. The defense was worrisome, but the unit was able to take advantage of opportunistic plays to help secure the win.

Rodgers came out and played exceptionally well despite all the doubt that was surrounding the quarterback since he first signed with Pittsburgh. The quarterback completed 22 of his 30 pass attempts for 244 yards and four touchdowns. He had a couple of questionable passes that were nearly intercepted, but nothing that was too detrimental to the team. 

Head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media following the win, and he spoke about his offense during his opening statement. He was critical of the offensive line, which was a worry coming into the year.

"On the offensive side of the ball I thought negative plays killed drives." Tomlin said. "We didn't protect our quarterback well enough on play-pass, you know, trying to go for chunks on first and second down. They sacked us a couple of times in those instances, that put us behind the chains. You can't be behind the chains in a hostile environment in a close football game. Usually those bills come due."

The offense played well overall as the Steelers were able to put up 34 points in the win, but there are always lessons to take from any game that is played. In this instance, the offensive line is worrisome, especially with the way the run game struggled to get going. Rodgers was sacked four times, and the Steelers were only able to muster up 53 yards on the ground.

Going into the 2025 season it was known that Rodgers' mobility was a bit limited. He is not the same player he used to be when it comes to his legs due to him being 41, so the offensive line was always going to be an X factor when it came to the passing game. Rodgers was still able to excel, but Pittsburgh is going to need some better play from its young offensive line in the future.

Broderick Jones was another main talking point during the 2025 offseason. The first-round pick from the 2023 NFL Draft has struggled throughout his career, and he was moved to left tackle for 2025. Reports out of training camp were optimistic regarding Jones, but two of the sacks during the win over the Jets seemed to come from his side of the offensive line. This will be something to monitor in future weeks, especially against some of the better defenses in the league.

Steelers' Rodgers silenced critics during win over Jets

Rodgers had some doubters coming into the 2025 season. He was coming off of two rough years with the Jets, but he know enters a stable organization that has been proven to know how to win games. He played very well, as his 244 passing yards and four touchdowns will put him near the top of the league leaderboards after the first week of the season. 

Hopefully Rodgers can continue his great play moving forward, and it should only get easier if the offensive line is able to show improvements on a week to week basis. Pittsburgh has to be able to run the football, and the protection must improve in the near future if the team wants to have any chance of finding postseason success.