PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets insist the season isn’t slipping away despite the recent addition of All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams.
Rodgers and Adams were reunited in New York after the Jets acquired the star wide receiver from Las Vegas earlier in the week. But, during their first game with the Jets, the two were unable to re-establish the on-field connection they had in Green Bay, as Pittsburgh used a big second half to rally for a 37-15 victory Sunday night.
“You can see the great synergy,” said interim coach Jeff Ulbrich. “You can see the relationship they had and the same page they were on. At the same time, it’s been a second since they played together. As we go forward, I imagine the relationship and production between those two is going to go up.”
New York played its second game with Ulbrich as the interim coach after Robert Saleh was fired on Oct. 8, but the Jets fell to 2-5 overall and were unable to avoid their first four-game losing streak since a five-game skid last season.
Rodgers completed 24 of 39 passes for 276 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Adams was targeted nine times, including the Jets’ first offensive play of the game, but only finished with three catches for 30 yards.
“I threw a wide one to him on the first one,” Rodgers said. “He kind of stumbled on a deep cross, but on that one, I felt like we were on the same page.”
Adams caught 615 passes from Rodgers for 7,517 yards and 68 touchdowns during eight seasons together in Green Bay. Adams sat out the Raiders’ previous three games with a hamstring injury that coincided with a trade request.
Adams, a three-time All-Pro, had 18 receptions for 209 yards and a touchdown with the Raiders this season. Adams has had 100 or more catches in five of his previous six seasons, including a career high 123 in 2021 with Rodgers in Green Bay.
“I wouldn’t say it’s rust,” Adams said. “We can continue to get on a better page. It’s just football. It doesn’t always work perfectly.”
The Jets opened a 15-6 lead thanks to touchdowns on two of their first five possessions. Breece Hall scored on a 13-yard run and Tyler Conklin caught a 1-yard play-action pass from Rodgers.
Pittsburgh scored 31 unanswered points after Conklin’s touchdown. Rodgers threw two game-changing interceptions to Beanie Bishop, New York punted, Pittsburgh blocked a field goal and the Jets turned the ball over on downs on their next five series. Hall had 114 yards from scrimmage in the first half, but was limited to just 27 yards the rest of the way.
After the game, Rodgers lamented his first interception to Bishop.
“It was a bad throw,” Rodgers said. “For whatever reason, it just changed the entire energy of the game.”
Star pass rusher Haason Reddick ended his long holdout with the Jets and will report to the team on Monday. He has not played this season while in a contract dispute with the Jets, who acquired him from Philadelphia in March to boost their pass rush.
New York boasted the No. 2-ranked defense entering Sunday’s game, but managed just one sack, as Russell Wilson and the Steelers piled on 409 yards of total offense and a season-high 37 points, the first time since 2020 Pittsburgh scored at least 30 points in consecutive games.
Reddick, a two-time Pro Bowler, has 58 sacks in seven NFL seasons, but he returns to a team that is reeling after another loss.
“Everything is still right in front of us,” Rodgers said. “We have to somehow keep the belief in the locker room and start a run. We can’t win 10 in a row unless we win the first one.”
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New York Jets head coach Jeff Ulbrich watches fro the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
New York Jets wide receiver Davante Adams (17) carries past Pittsburgh Steelers safety DeShon Elliott (25) in the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) tosses the ball as he is brought down by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) in the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) passes in the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Russell Wilson sat at the podium, uniform still on, in no rush to move on from a moment he believed would always come.
Even as the weeks passed and his aching calf struggled to get better. Even as Justin Fields deftly guided the Pittsburgh Steelers in his place. Even as the outside noise of a potential quarterback controversy seemed to be growing ever louder.
Belief is a big thing for the 35-year-old Wilson. He believed he would get an opportunity to reset his career in Pittsburgh. And while the start may have come a little later than he would have preferred, Wilson offered proof he's not close to finished during a 37-15 victory over Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Sunday night.
Wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 264 yards, shaking off some early rust and ignoring the boos and brief chants for Fields when the offense sputtered in the first half. An 11-yard lob to George Pickens for a touchdown late in the first half allowed Wilson to exhale.
"I was like, ‘There’s going to be a lot more of these I believe,’” Wilson said.
While there weren't any more scores to Pickens, there was a 1-yard touchdown run on a sneak in the third quarter and a 4-yard flip to Van Jefferson in the fourth as Pittsburgh (5-2) topped 30 points in consecutive weeks for the first time since early in the 2020 season.
“We’re just right on that edge of getting really good and being great,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to keep searching for that edge, learning and studying and spending the time on it.”
Though he's not quite in the “Let Russ Cook” era of his prime, Wilson looked more than capable in front of a packed crowd that included Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Pittsburgh ripped off the game's final 31 points after spotting the Jets a 15-6 lead.
“We’re doing some good things and the reality is that there’s so much more out there and we’ll get better as we go,” Wilson said. "We’ll keep working but to be where we are in a good place.”
The Jets (2-5), not so much.
New York's retooled offense — which now includes Davante Adams, who was reunited with Rodgers this week after being acquired in a trade with Las Vegas — couldn't keep up the Jets dropped their fourth consecutive game and seond under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.
“That game, especially that second half, that’s not who this team is,” Ulbrich said. “That’s not good enough and it starts with me and the coaching staff and goes down to every single player on this team. We can all give more and we will give more.”
New York will have to if it wants to get back into contention in the AFC East. Rodgers passed for 276 yards with a touchdown and connected with Adams three times for 30 yards, but also had two passes intercepted by rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop and the Steelers turned those into game-turning scores.
The Jets were up nine and had a chance to extend their lead in the first half when Bishop stepped in front of Rodgers' pass intended for Garrett Wilson at midfield for his first career interception. Pickens first touchdown of the season soon followed.
Chris Boswell kicked the third of three field goals midway through the third quarter to put the Steelers in front when Bishop struck again.
Rodgers tried to hit Garrett Wilson down the left sideline on New York’s next possession, but the ball bounced off Wilson and into Bishop’s hands. Bishop raced to the Jets 1, only failing to score because a sprinting Adams chased him down just short of the goal line.
No matter, Wilson bulled his way into the end zone on the next play. A scoring toss to Jefferson early in the fourth gave the Steelers the kind of breathing room that's been rare the last handful of seasons for a team that has played more one-score games than anyone since the start of 2021.
Tomlin raised some eyebrows earlier in the week when he opted to turn to Wilson over Fields, who had racked up 10 touchdowns (five passing, five rushing) against just one turnover in six starts. Tomlin’s reasoning was simple: The Steelers had been good, but “not to be confused with great.”
Asked afterward how challenging it was to give the starting job to Wilson in the face of Fields' play, Tomlin smiled.
“That's why I'm well compensated," the NFL's longest-tenured coach said before walking away.
Jets: G Xavier Newman was carted off with a neck injury after getting blocked on Bishop’s interception return early in the second half. He was taken to the hospital for observation. X-rays were negative and Newman was able to fly how with the team. ... G Alijah Vera-Tucker injured an ankle in the second quarter and did not return. ... S Tony Adams left with a hamstring injury. ... S Ashtyn Davis was evaluated for a concussion.
Steelers: DT Montravius Adams exited in the first half with a knee injury. ... CB Donte Jackson left in the first half with a shoulder injury.
Jets: At New England next Sunday.
Steelers: Host the New York Giants on Monday, Oct. 28.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) celebrates his touchdown with offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. (65) in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) talks on the bench in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. (31) celebrates his interception with linebacker Payton Wilson (41) in the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. (31) returns an interception in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reacts from the sideline in the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) celebrates a first down catch in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
New York Jets wide receiver Davante Adams (17) pulls in a pass reception against Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) in the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) passes in the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump attends the Pittsburgh Steelers game against the New York Jets Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Pittsburgh, with Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (Win McNamee/Pool via AP)
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) celebrates his touchdown reception against New York Jets with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
