Aaron Rodgers gave Steelers fans a show in Week 1: those classic wrist-flick lasers, four touchdown passes, and that celebration as Boswell drilled a 60-yard game-winner. But before the Steelers fans start screaming “Rodgers is back,” The Athletic threw a bucket of cold water on the hype. Yes, let’s not go crazy with our expectations just yet.

Mike Sando’s piece for The Athletic praised Aaron Rodgers’ display, but it didn’t come without a warning, either. “It’s no shock seeing Rodgers play well, even at his age. There are signs he’ll struggle to produce consistently well over the course of a season,” he wrote. And when you rewatch the tape, it will start making some sense to you.

Let’s talk positives first. On the surface, the Jets game felt like a feel-good story. Rodgers in black and gold, tossing four beautiful touchdowns, and Boswell sealing it with a 60-yarder to beat his old squad 34–32. Rodgers went 22-of-30 for 244 yards and four scores, posting a 136.7 rating and looking every bit like instant redemption.

But look underneath, and you’d notice the cracks. Rodgers was sacked four times for 26 yards lost in that game (and, per the Athletic’s notes), took a handful of other heavy hits. The box score doesn’t really show it, but the tape definitely does. He took a real beating, at times. And if your QB keeps getting dropped or slammed around like that, you can’t just rave about the big throws and pretend the cost isn’t there.

In his piece, Sando leans on the assessment of a coach who watched the Jets-Steelers game on TV. Rodgers’ mobility and the throws he’s leaning on. Those quick wrist-flick darts he’s famous for can still win games when they hit, but when the timing’s off, they’re just as likely to turn into picks. “The four (TDs) is what everyone sees. Nobody pays attention to the two dropped interceptions or the fact that, just four or five years ago, he’d go five games without one of those,” the coach said. In short, what Rodgers pulled off against the Jets was incredible, but far from sustainable. And it’s going to be a long season.

And just like that, Mike Tomlin‘s job just got a little more complicated. He’s the guy who has to turn vintage-looking moments into 17-game durability. Tomlin’s always been good at managing vets, but this feels different. Rodgers is 41, coming off that Achilles tear in 2023 and a rough two-year stint with the Jets.

Yes, Tomlin has a reason to be concerned about Aaron Rodgers. But he also has a lot of positives to take from the Jets game.

What Mike Tomlin can feel good about after the Jets game

The Steelers‘ 34-32 win over the Jets definitely gave the fans a few things to be excited about. That special teams display was probably the best of all. They got it done at the finish line. Pittsburgh ended up +9.8 in special-teams EPA, the third-best boost Rodgers has ever had in his career, per TruMedia.

On offense, the Rodgers–Arthur Smith pairing looked sharp. Rodgers spread it around with touchdowns to Jonnu Smith, Calvin Austin III, Jaylen Warren, and Ben Skowronek, while big offseason pickup DK Metcalf made his presence felt with four catches for 83 yards—a lot of which involved him carrying the ball, turning short throws into big gains.

And according to Mike Florio, Mike Tomlin is eyeing Tyreek Hill as a possible WR addition to the roster. Imagine pairing up DK Metcalf with an 8-time Pro Bowler. That WR room and those slinging darts from Rodgers? Scary times ahead. But it wasn’t like the Jets game was perfect across the board.

The Jets outgained Pittsburgh 394 to 271 and ran for 182 yards compared to the Steelers’ 53. This was a game they won because the ball bounced their way in the fourth, and special teams showed up. Snatching up difficult wins goes a long way, but not when your ways aren’t sustainable. Mike Tomlin has a few things to fix up.