EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes in his Pittsburgh Steelers debut, and Chris Boswell kicked a career-long 60-yard field with little over a minute to play to account for a 34-32 victory against the New York Jets in the season opener at MetLife Stadium.
The Steelers trailed 26-17 entering the fourth quarter and 32-31 when they got the ball back with 3 minutes, 31 seconds to play and began their march to the winning points courtesy of Boswell, who kicked a 56-yard field goal earlier in the game.
Boswell nails a career long 60-yarder to give Pittsburgh the lead!
PITvsNYJ on CBS/Paramount https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/jm0DRH9d6B
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
Facing his former team, Rodgers competed 22 of 30 passes for 244 yards and his 35th career four-touchdown game.
Former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields scored two rushing touchdowns, including a fourth-and-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to give the Jets a 32-31 lead. He had 48 rushing yards.
Fields also had 218 yards passing and one touchdown while completing 16 of 22 attempts. His fourth-down pass on the Jets’ final drive was broken up by cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
It was a shaky game for the retooled defense, one that coach Mike Tomlin said had a chance to be historic. In terms of stopping the run, the Steelers picked up where they left off from the 2024 postseason.
Erasing no memories of the 299 yards that Baltimore gained against them in January, the Steelers gave up 182 rushing yards and 394 overall.
The Jets got points on their first four drives and held a 19-17 lead at halftime. Intent on upgrading their run defense in the offseason, the Steelers allowed 106 rushing yards in the half and 240 overall.
After forcing a punt on the opening drive of the second half, the Steelers defense resorted to first-half form. Breece Hall had runs of 16 and 17 yards on a 68-yard touchdown drive that ended when Fields went off right tackle for the final 2 yards and a 26-17 lead.
Rodgers threw two touchdown passes in a 50-second span early in the fourth quarter to push the Steelers back in front.
The quarter began with the Steelers on the Jets 5, and Rodgers threw his third touchdown pass on the next play. He flipped a pass to Jaylen Warren in the right flat, and the running back skipped into the end zone to help cut the deficit to 26-24.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kenneth Gainwell stripped Xavier Gipson of the ball, and Ben Skowronek recovered at the 22. It was the second big play for Skowronek, who caught a 22-yard TD pass in the first quarter.
Two plays later, Rodgers connected with Calvin Austin III on an 18-yard touchdown pass, and the Steelers had a 31-26 lead.
Back came Fields and the Jets with a 67-yard touchdown drive that consumed more than seven minutes.
A 9-yard run by Fields on third down put the Jets on the 1. Fields faked the handoff on fourth down, then scored on a bootleg around the right side that faked out the entire defense. This score put the Jets in front 32-31. The 2-point conversion try failed.
The Steelers went 3-and-out, with Rodgers getting sacked for the fourth time to precede a punt. The defense finally made a stop, and the Steelers got the ball back at their 19 with 3 minutes, 13 seconds to play. After Rodgers threw incomplete deep for Austin on third down, Boswell sent his 60-yard attempt through the uprights with 1:03 left.
After going to entire 2024 season without scoring a touchdown on an opening drive, the Steelers got off to a good start when Rodgers found Skowronek on a play-action pass for a 22-yard score and 7-3 lead.
The Jets countered with Fields’ 33-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson, who got behind Darius Slay in the right flat. After a Steelers penalty on a failed extra point, the Jets went for 2 from the 1-yard line. The run was stopped short, keeping the Jets’ lead at 9-7.
Boswell connected on 56-yard field goal early in the second quarter to push the Steelers back on top.
The Jets scored on their third consecutive possession, going 68 yards in seven plays to take a 16-10 lead when Braelon Allen bulled into the end zone to finish off an 8-yard touchdown run up the middle. Fields had a 15-yard run on the previous play, and he hurt the Steelers with a screen pass to Hall that gained 33 yards.
The Jets made it 4 for 4 on scoring drives when Nick Folk booted his second field goal, a 51-yarder, to make it 19-10 with 2:54 left in the half. The Steelers were in position to force their first punt, but Fields threw a 24-yard completion to Tyler Johnson on third-and-9.
With 32 seconds left in the half, the Steelers cut the deficit to 19-17. Jonnu Smith took a shovel pass from Rodgers and went around right end for a 3-yard touchdown. Austin had two catches for 51 yards on the scoring drive.