Steelers' Mike Tomlin happy to 'learn while winning' to begin Aaron Rodgers era
The Aaron Rodgers era for the Pittsburgh Steelers got off to a winning start, as Mike Tomlin's team rolled into MetLife Stadium and left with a 34-32 win over the New York Jets.
Given the storylines pre-game with this being Rodgers' return, you can bet your house that this one had a little more meaning for Rodgers, given how his time in the Big Apple ended, and his performance was one of the better ones in recent memory.
Rodgers would end his Week 1 outing going 22 of 30 for 244 yards and four touchdowns while posting a 136.7 rating as he wound back the clock and delivered a performance that should give Steelers fans hope and positivity moving forward.
But what did Tomlin think about the performance of his team?
“Certainly was a lot to learn from that performance, it’s really good to learn while winning,” Tomlin said. “So I’m thankful we did enough to win the game, but certainly there were things that were indicative of Week 1.”
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Rodgers begins season with a bang
Now, I'm going to start this with the "it's only one game" mantra, and I'm not going to jump to conclusions based on Rodgers being on a lowly Jets team.
But it was a game that saw all the best of what made Rodgers great, aside from the mobility (four sacks).
He fired dart after dart to his receivers, with DK Metcalf (83 yards) being his go-to weapon, and Rodgers had to shoulder most of the offensive workload and coped well.
The Jets' defense halted the run game in its tracks as the Steelers could only muster a total of 53 yards from 20 combined carries, so the four-time MVP winner did the heavy lifting. Hopefully, that won't be the norm for the Steelers' offense.
But for one week? It was fine as Rodgers reminded all of the doubters out there (some from the Jets organization) that there's still enough juice in the tank.
Now comes the hard part - doing it consistently.
Steelers Place QB, LB on Injured Reserve
The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed a pair of players on the reserve/injured list as they head into their Week 2 home opener against the Seattle Seahawks at Acrisure Stadium.
The organization announced that quarterback Skylar Thompson (hamstring) and linebacker Malik Harrison (knee) will now miss at least the next four games while residing on IR with their respective ailments.
Pittsburgh officially signed safety Jabrill Peppers and cornerback James Pierre to its 53-man roster as the corresponding moves while also adding quarterback Logan Woodside to its practice squad.
Thompson popped up on the Steelers' final injury report ahead of their Week 1 matchup against the New York Jets and was ruled questionable. He later found himself among the team's inactives, which was expected, and served as their emergency No. 3 signal caller behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph.
Woodside, who spent time in Pittsburgh in the preseason and also previously played under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith with both the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons, will now assume those duties for the time being.
Thompson signed a reserve/futures contract with the Steelers in January. He was the team's No. 4 QB for most of the offseason after the team signed Rodgers and Rudolph while also drafting his former Kansas State teammate in Will Howard, but a hand injury to the latter that landed him on IR opened the door for Thompson to lock down a 53-man roster spot.
During the preseason, he threw for 498 yards, four touchdowns and an interception to go alongside a 73.2 percent completion rate in three games.
Harrison, on the other hand, went down with his injury during the fourth quarter vs. New York and did not return after eventually being ruled out.
The 27-year-old logged a tackle over four defensive snaps and 16 on special teams in his regular season debut for Pittsburgh after signing a two-year, $10 million contract with the team as a free agent in March.
An Ohio State product who played in 52 games for the program from 2016 to 2019, Harrison was picked by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
He remained with the franchise for five years, appearing in 76 games and making 34 starts. During that span, Harrison racked up 174 tackles and two sacks in the regular season while posting 23 tackles over seven postseason contests.
