Aaron Rodgers heard — and expected, he said — all of the boos from Jets fans when he took the field at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
So after he threw for four touchdowns and made a strong statement demonstrating that he can, in fact, still quarterback a team at 41 years old, Rodgers wanted to hear what Jets fans had to say.
As he walked off the field following the Steelers’ 34-32 win, Rodgers put his hand to his right ear and listened as a blend of boos and cheers — with the latter from Steelers fans mixed in and waving yellow towels — followed him to the tunnel.
When he approached the end zone, Rodgers, with Cam Heyward and head coach Mike Tomlin at his side, pumped his first to acknowledge Pittsburgh fans.
Sunday had been pegged as a revenge game for Rodgers ever since his messy divorce with the Jets and his decision to sign with the Steelers.
When Aaron Glenn took over as Gang Green’s head coach, Rodgers flew across the country to Florham Park for a meeting where he was told that the Jets wanted to move in a different direction at quarterback.
Rodgers blasted Glenn and the way his situation was handled during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” and while Rodgers downplayed his return ahead of Week 1, he admitted afterward that “I was happy to beat everyone associated with the Jets.”
“There were probably people in the organization that didn’t think I could play anymore,” Rodgers said, “so it was nice to remind those people that I still can.”
He completed 22-of-30 passes for 244 yards and the four touchdowns, and with the Steelers trailing late in the fourth quarter, he orchestrated a vintage six-play, 39-yard drive to get them close enough for Chris Boswell to connect on a 60-yard field goal.
Rodgers’ first season with the Jets was derailed by a torn Achilles sustained on the first offensive drive of the year, and his second campaign with Gang Green was defined by constant struggles and underwhelming performances that resembled a shadow of the signal-caller who won four MVP awards with the Packers.
As a Jet, Rodgers compiled four touchdown passes in game just once — in the season finale against the Dolphins.
It took just one game to already match that with the Steelers.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
