Aaron Rodgers is suiting up for his third different team in the last four years after joining the Pittsburgh Steelers on a cheap, one-year, $13.65 million deal this offseason.
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When comparing the Steelers and Rodgers’ previous outfit, the New York Jets, you would think they couldn’t be more different. The Steelers haven’t had a losing record in 21 years. The Jets haven’t had a winning one since 2015. Pittsburgh has had three head coaches since 1969. The Jets have had eight since 2000.
The Steelers are generally viewed as one of the blue blood franchises of the league, while the Jets are seen as a punchline in many NFL circles. Despite all of those organizational and historical differences, FS1’s Colin Cowherd actually sees a lot of similarities between these 2025 Steelers (based on Rodgers’ criticisms at camp) and Rodgers’ 2024 Jets.
“Another day, another dominant performance from the defense. Aaron Rodgers, 0-for-3. He listed to the reporter the four problems with the offense. Stop me if you’ve heard these before from the New York Jets,” Cowherd started his banter via The Herd.
“Number 1, they can’t run the football. Jets were 31st last year, couldn’t run the football. Number 2, their vertical passing game in Pittsburgh is not in sync, so Aaron is dumping stuff off for short, quick passes. That was the Jets last year,” he added.
The first two definitely track. The Steelers ran the ball down the throats of defenses last year, finishing fourth with 533 rushes. But they did not do so efficiently or effectively, posting a 4.1 yards per carry mark that was better than only six other teams.
And don’t get Steelers fans started on the constant short-yardage throws (bubble screens and slants out the wazoo) that they’ve seen more than anything else ever since Big Ben’s elbow injury in 2019. Cowherd went on:
“WR2, not dependable. Sort of like Allen Lazard not living up to his contract in New York. Number 4 is the young offensive tackles are taking their lumps. The o-line is unsteady. All the Steelers are for Aaron Rodgers, is a more organized Jets.”
Is Aaron Rodgers in for a dose of déjà vu with the Steelers? @colincowherd pic.twitter.com/EVaKRekTYL
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 4, 2025
Certainly, the Steelers were high on speedster Calvin Austin III, who had 548 yards and four TDs last year, and 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson. However, neither has impressed so far in camp. Austin has been hurt, and Wilson has not been able to find any chemistry with Rodgers.
Then, last but certainly not least—in fact, this one is probably the most worrying—is the lack of a quality offensive line. Rodgers was tied for ninth with 40 sacks last year, and his 6.4 sack rate was his highest since 2018. So far in camp, Pittsburgh’s 2023 first-rounder, left tackle Broderick Jones, has looked the wrong side of awful, though 2024 first-round tackle Troy Fautanu has looked a lot more encouraging.
If Fautanu and Jones, especially, don’t figure it out early during this 2025 season, it could be even worse than just “Jets deja vu” for Aaron Rodgers in the Steel City.
