Aaron Rodgers Publicly Calls Out Bad Refereeing Decision After Steelers Kicker Saves the Day

The last minute in Pittsburgh felt like two different stories colliding. On one side, a quarterback who threw four touchdowns in his Steelers debut. On the other hand, an officiating crew that left the stadium with Aaron Rodgers‘ glare burned into their memory. But the highlight of the game would be Chris Boswell’s right leg delivering the dagger. A 60-yard rocket in the final minute gave Pittsburgh a 34-32 win over the Jets in Week 1. It was the longest kick of his career, but the storyline leading to it left plenty of steam on the Steelers’ sideline. 

One play earlier, A-Rod hit Calvin Austin III on what looked like a first-down throw. The problem? A Jets defender had his arm wrapped around Austin before the ball arrived. Austin’s hands were flying toward the ref, waiting for a flag that never came. The no-call left Pittsburgh stunned, forcing Boswell to line up for the desperation bomb that saved the night.

Rodgers didn’t sugarcoat it afterwards. “We got hosed on a call there that would’ve been able to run the clock out probably, but [Boswell! bailed us out with an amazing kick,” he said. His frustration was obvious, though he quickly admitted that Boswell bailed the team out with the kick. Without it, the game could have flipped. The 41-year-old quarterback looked calm, but his words had bite. Everyone on the field saw Austin dragged down, except the officials.

The fallout could’ve been brutal. Had Boswell missed, the Jets would’ve stolen the game. Austin’s catch would’ve put Pittsburgh inside the Jets’ 30, running clock and setting up a routine field goal instead of a desperation 60-yarder. Instead, Jalen Ramsey delivered a crunching hit on Garrett Wilson to force a fourth-down incompletion and seal the result.

Aaron Rodgers’ words hit harder because of what he had already done on the field. He had a pretty decent Pittsburgh debut, going 22-of-30 for 244 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers. Rodgers’ message was simple: the win didn’t erase the blown call. For the Steelers team in the AFC gauntlet, those moments matter. Rodgers believed the crew nearly cost them the opener, and that honesty poured out in real time.

Steelers survive Jets rally

The Jets gave a tough fight, even if it involved rough handling. Breece Hall gashed Pittsburgh’s front for 107 yards on 19 carries, breaking chunk runs that kept the Steelers’ defense on its heels. His consistency set up Justin Fields’ second rushing touchdown, a 1-yard fake that gave New York a 32-31 lead with just over seven minutes left.

The Jets pushed back behind Fields, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to Wilson. New York briefly held a 32-31 lead with just over seven minutes left. Head coach Aaron Glenn wasn’t impressed with much else, but he did single out Fields for keeping the Jets in it. Fields’ 1-yard TD run nearly stood as the difference until Aaron Rodgers answered with his late march.

Turnovers swung the game late. Kenneth Gainwell forced Xavier Gipson to fumble on a kickoff return, giving Pittsburgh the ball at the Jets’ 22. Rodgers capitalized two plays later with an 18-yard strike to Austin. That flurry, followed by Boswell’s game-winning boot, set the tone for Pittsburgh’s season opener. It wasn’t flawless, but it was efficient and gutsy, capped off by both controversy and one quarterback’s sharp truth.