Film Room: The one play that may have convinced the Steelers to pursue Aaron Rodgers

There was an interesting piece out Monday from veteran Sports Illustrated writer Albert Breer on how Aaron Rodgers ended up the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jeff Hartman wrote an article on SCN yesterday explaining the article and linking to it, which you can read HERE. It’s well worth your time.

The passage I found most interesting from Breer was the following, in which he discusses what the Steelers’ staff saw when they studied film of Rodgers from his 2024 season in New York:

Their study of Rodgers showed a little more than even they expected. Early in the 2024 season, the Achilles, and a hamstring injury to follow, clearly hampered him. But as time wore on, even with the Jets struggling, the Steelers saw Rodgers returning to form. In the Jets’ Halloween game against the Texans, he made a few big-time back-shoulder throws. He played well in both Dolphins games. In Week 16 against the Jaguars, Pittsburgh saw vintage Rodgers, with a late go-ahead touchdown throw to Davante Adams really standing out.

It was that last line, in which Breer mentions “vintage Rodgers,” that caught my attention. What happened on that play, I thought, that convinced the Steelers Rodgers could be their guy? Naturally, I dug into the film to find out.

My video breakdown of the play is included at the bottom of this article. But it’s worth discussing before you see it.

The Jets and Jaguars were tied at 25 with less than two minutes remaining. New York faced a 3rd-and-5 from just across midfield. Rodgers came to the line and looked over the defense, and as he began his cadence, a Jacksonville safety walked down from his two-deep alignment to cover the tight end flexed in the slot to the left of Rodgers. Rodgers walked up towards his linemen and made some sort of an adjustment, changing either the play or the protection, and receiver Allan Lazard reduced his alignment to come closer to the flexed tight end.

At the snap, the Jets ran a concept called “Mesh Traffic,” which I’ve designed here:

Mesh Traffic is a man-beater. Rodgers may have audibled to it when he saw Jacksonville’s safety walk down, believing this indicated Cover-1. It’s essentially a pick play where the two receivers crossing the field from left-to-right create interference for the linebacker (in orange) assigned to cover the running back. If the backer is forced to go over top of the crossing routes, the back will be wide open with room to run after the catch.

That’s not what happened on this play. The linebacker, perhaps sensing the rub routes when Lazard reduced his alignment, reacted quickly and beat them underneath, allowing him to stick running back Breece Hall in coverage. Rodgers had to come off of Hall as a result, but with an edge rusher closing in from his right, didn’t have time to stand in the pocket and work through his progressions. Instead, he climbed up, then worked out to his right. From there, he set his feet, then found receiver Davante Adams, his second option, crossing the field from right-to-left. Jacksonville blew the coverage on Adams, who was wide open. Rodgers got him the ball with ample room to run, and Adams took it all the way to the one-yard-line before being tackled. The Jets scored on the following play, and held on for a 32-25 win.

What did this one play show the Steelers about Aaron Rodgers? The answer is plenty.

First, it showed Rodgers can still diagnose coverage and control a game from the line of scrimmage like few others. I’m not sure what change he made on this play, exactly, but it was the appropriate one for the situation. Rodgers gives the Steelers a coach on the field at quarterback, with as high a football I.Q. as anyone in the game.

Second, Rodgers still has excellent spatial awareness, and while he doesn’t move about the pocket as deftly as he once did, he can buy space for himself while keeping the integrity of a play alive. Every single quarterback the Steelers have employed since Ben Roethlisberger would have fled the pocket on this play once they realized the running back was covered. None have the presence of mind Rodgers does to slide into open space, keep their eyes down field and continue working through the progression. Instead of creating a game-changing play, they may have run for a few yards or thrown the ball away, bringing up a fourth down either way.

Finally, the way Rodgers pivoted once he found Adams crossing the field and fired a strike into his chest must have assured the Steelers his quick release remains intact, and that his repaired Achilles is strong enough to sustain sudden movement. This is no small thing, given Rodgers’ age and injury history.

This play, as well as some of the other intangibles Breer mentioned in his article, seem to have been crucial in convincing the Steelers Rodgers was worth pursuing. Whether he rewards them for their faith remains to be seen. For now, though, Rodgers is a Steeler, and if he plays the way the coaches believe he can, that could be a game-changer.

For my breakdown of the play discussed here, click the player below. And for more of my work, follow me on X @KTSmithFFSN, and tune into my “Call Sheet Daily” podcast every Monday-Friday morning on all major platforms.

Really good article from SI’s Albert Breer out yesterday about PIT’s pursuit of Aaron Rodgers.

Breer cites multiple factors that attracted PIT’s interest, and that their film study was more encouraging than expected. One play that really stood out to the coaching staff was this… pic.twitter.com/IJftAmynwB

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) June 10, 2025