Do stats show Steelers' Aaron Rodgers' Week 1 reemergence was a fluke?

Pittsburgh Steelers fans were excited by quarterback Aaron Rodgers' vintage performance in a 34-32 win at the New York Jets in Week 1. The 41-year-old completed 73.3 percent of 30 pass attempts for 244 yards and four touchdowns.

However, ESPN's Ben Solak explained in a piece published on Tuesday morning why he isn't completely buying a supposed Rodgers "reemergence" after four quarters of action. 

What about the Steelers' win over the Jets will not "stick"

"[Rodgers] certainly is still capable of playing point guard in a smart and efficient passing game built on line of scrimmage audibles and quick releases, but his lack of pocket escapability remains a weighty cap on this offense's ceiling," Solak wrote. "Rodgers also had the third-highest explosive pass rate on the day (23.5%) while throwing the most screens (30% of dropbacks) and the third-shallowest passes overall (4.5 air yards per attempt). That explosive play rate is not going to stick." 

In total, Rodgers took four sacks and three other hits against the Jets as left tackle Broderick Jones endured a rough outing. Pro Football Focus gave Rodgers an overall grade of 54.5, which has him ranked 26th in the league among qualified quarterbacks for Week 1. 

Of his four touchdown tosses against the Jets, one occurred when he hit tight end Jonnu Smith on a jet touch pass that was essentially a red-zone handoff. 

How Aaron Rodgers' pass-catchers bolstered his Week 1 stats

The Athletic's Ted Nguyen noted that Rodgers "got rid of the ball extremely fast (2.62 average time to throw)" against the Jets. 

"The Steelers had the highest average yards after catch per reception in the league in Week 1 (7.9)," Nguyen added. "...On the Steelers’ nine third-down plays, [Rodgers] threw the ball short of the sticks all but one time and was sacked twice."

Rodgers seems to understand that he needed to embrace playing in an offense that doesn't ask him to be much more than a game manager, outside of the occasional throw, given his age. That said, opposing defensive coordinators now have a better idea of how to attack the Steelers' offensive line to make Rodgers uncomfortable early and often during games. 

It will be interesting to see if the 0-1 Seattle Seahawks can rattle Rodgers at Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium on Sunday. If they don't, perhaps his performance versus the Jets was a sign of what's to come during his tenure in the Steel City.