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Look, it’s easy to second-guess about a strategy after the game.
As the old saying goes – “Hindset is 20-20.”
While the concept of Sauce Gardner following around DK Metcalf certainly makes sense, one could argue there was a slight issue with it today.
Hear me out.
Gardner has done a good job on Metcalf in the past. Since he’s 6-3, like Metcalf, he has the length to deal with him on 50-50 balls.
Gardner did do a solid job on Metcalf today. That catch at the end by Metcalf, was a fluke play, with the ball popping up in the air after Gardner got his hand on it, then bounced off a another player, and then back to Metcalf. Not much you can do about something like that.
His two other important catches of 18 and 31 yards were essentially on bubble screens that other Jets DBs, not Gardner, failed to make initial tackles on.
So Gardner was fine on Metcalf today.
The problem was that the Jets’ other corner, Brandon Stephens, was a bad matchup for the Steelers’ other starting receiver, Calvin Austin.
A really bad matchup, and here is why.
Austin is a 5-8. 170-pound receiver with 4.32 speed and loose hips, to change direction on a dime.
Stephen is a big, mauling press corner who is very physical, but just doesn’t have the speed or change of direction skills to deal with Austin.
A perfect example of this mismatch was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ score after fumbled punt early in the fourth quarter.
On the TD pass from Aaron Rodgers to Calvin Austin, on the second play of this drive, Austin beat Stephens for an 18-yard TD. Austin ran by Stephens when the cornerback seemed to slip, down the right seam and Rodgers hit him for a wide-open TD.
On the late drive the Steelers kicked winning game-winning 60-yard field goal, the field goal attempt probably should have been closer than that, since Stephens seemed to interfere with Austin on a pass down the left sideline. There was no flag, but it certainly looked like one was warranted.
Late in the first half, on another Steelers TD drive, one of the key plays was Rodgers hitting Austin on a fade route down the right side for 21 yards, to the 3-yard-line, on Stephens.
After this play, Steelers radio play-by-play man Rob King said, “Scouting report – good cover guy but doesn’t always get his head around.”
Look, I know it’s easy to second guess, but in retrospect, having Stephens on Austin, as much as he was, perhaps wasn’t a great plan.
The quick-as-a-tick Memphis product was too fast for the thickly-built 6-1, 215-pound corner.
Stephens actually has the size to match up with Metcalf, who doesn’t have the loose hips to cut away from corners like Austin.
And actually, Gardner has looser hips than Stephens, so perhaps he could have cut with Austin better.
In restrospect, maybe just let Gardner and Stephens stay on one side each and not follow today.
Or come up with a better matchup for Austin than Stephens.
I’m sorry, while Stephens is a solid cornerback, he’s not a good matchup for Austin, and I challenge anyone to argue otherwise . . .
Interesting stat from King in the first quarter.
After Rodgers threw a 22-yard TD to wide receiver Ben Skwroneck on their first possession, King pointed out the Steelers didn’t score on an opening drive all of last season.
And today, Rodgers marched them 71 yards on 10 plays on their opening drive of the 2025 season.
Rodgers finished the day with four touchdown passes, going 22-30 passing with a 136.7 quarterback rating, quite an impressive debut.
Justin Fields had a pretty good opening game for the Jets with two rushing and one passing TD.
However, Rodgers did more at the end to secure the win for his team, which is often the case with the elite quarterbacks. They give you that extra play or two or three to get you over the top.
Certainly not blaming Fields for the loss. The Jets continue to be hurt by blown coverages in the defensive back seven, a problem that carried over today from the last couple of seasons.
When you cut a QB, and he goes out and throws four touchdowns against his former team, leading his new team to a win, it makes you wonder why the former team didn’t bring him back.
And I can’t answer that for you. We never got an answer on that one.
I’m not being a wise guy. We never did.
But certainly if Fields plays like he did today, the Jets will win their share of games.
September 7, 2025
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