Sunday’s Steelers-Jets regular-season opener will undoubtedly feature one of the most unique Week 1 quarterback matchups of all time.
Aaron Rodgers is going to make his debut with the Steelers one year removed from playing for the Jets. Justin Fields is going to make his debut for the Jets one year removed from playing for the Steelers.
So who has the advantage? Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive thinks it’s New York.
“They’ll come into this game more prepared, more focused, probably more opponent specific,” Madden said during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “I think the Jets will really talk about the familiarity with Aaron Rodgers, from having practiced with him for a couple of years, and try to exploit that. I think the Steelers’ attitude will be, ‘Well, you know, we just play our game. Don’t worry about that.’”
Madden says that situation will manifest through a coaching advantage he sees in Aaron Glenn over Mike Tomlin.
“Aaron Glenn — as a first-year NFL head coach — I favor him over Mike Tomlin in this matchup, which says a lot about Glenn,” Madden insisted. “And it says a lot about Tomlin.”
It’s Madden’s belief that Fields will produce better results in New York than he did in Pittsburgh.
“The Jets will use Justin Fields better than the Steelers ever did. I think they’ll play to his strengths,” Madden predicted. “I keep going back to that game in Cleveland where they put Justin Fields in for one play to have him throw a long pass. I just don’t think the Steelers are well-coached, and haven’t been for quite some time. I think that’ll be evident in this game, not only with how Tomlin utilizes his team and his players, but in comparison with how the Jets utilize Justin Fields. I bet we see a better Justin Fields in this game in terms of utilization, in terms of game plan, in terms of playing to his strength, than we ever saw with the Steelers.”
According to ESPN.com, the Steelers’ over-under win total is 8.6 games. They are predicted to be 16th overall in the NFL (only 14 teams, seven from each conference, make the playoffs). The outlet gives the franchise just a 44.6% chance of making the postseason.
“It sounds like the mushy middle, which is where they’ve resided for years and where they will continue to reside,” Madden said in response to those projections. “Nothing they said surprises me. It depresses me. It (stinks), but that’s where they’re at and won’t dig themselves out.”
Also in the podcast, Madden and I discussed some underwhelming games from highly rated NCAA quarterbacks in season-openers this weekend. We also talk about the Savannah Bananas’ invasion of PNC Park, the Pirates’ successful trip to Boston and the looming sale of the Penguins.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
