On one sideline Sunday night, we saw a team that gave up everything for a veteran, Super Bowl–winning quarterback. And on the other, we saw a team that forced a veteran, Super Bowl–winning quarterback to give up (almost) everything simply for the right to play there. That is the story of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 37–15 win over the New York Jets.
The Jets became Aaron Rodgers Incorporated the moment the team traded for him and began the long process of making moves that, directly or indirectly, stemmed from his presence there. Rodgers changed the way the team approached the draft and free agency. He changed the way the team approached the trade deadline. He changed the way it played offense. Like when a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer recruits a new backing band, no one wants to be the one with a cymbal tossed at their head, making everyone play a little tight because of it. While Rodgers did not order the firing of his head coach, the immense pressure of his being there changed the way the Jets approach even the most basic of human niceties. Robert Saleh, let’s not forget, was the first in-season coach firing of the Woody Johnson tenure, despite being a game out of first place at the time.
