The Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) are hosting the New York Jets (2-4) on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 7, but this isn’t the same Jets team from a week ago.
On Tuesday, New York traded for star wide receiver Davante Adams, reuniting him with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, a 20-year vet, already brings challenges of his own, given his experience.
“He’s a very, very smart quarterback. He’s one of the greats to play that position,” cornerback Donte Jackson said. “He’s one of the smarter football players to ever grace the game. So it’s always a great opportunity to go up against a guy like him.”
However, pairing Rodgers with Adams, who he connected with 622 times for 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns with the Green Bay Packers, will make the Jets’ offense even more difficult to defend.
“This is a great duo,” Jackson continued. “One of the best duos to ever grace the game, to ever play together. You get lost kinda just thinking about those two guys.”
Still, if the Steelers hope to get back in the win column on Sunday night, it starts with stopping Rodgers.
That’s a task that Jackson believes can only be done by everyone doing their job from the beginning of the game.
“You just have to execute. Execute early. It’s not going to be too much guessing with him. Nine times out of 10 he knows what’s going on,” Jackson added. “Sixty minutes of playing detailed football. That’s what it takes to combat what a guy like Rodgers does with the ball in his hands.”
While Rodgers will likely target Adams early and often in their first game together since the 2021 season, Jackson acknowledges New York has several other weapons Pittsburgh will need to minimize as well.
“There’s (Garrett) Wilson. He’s also a great player. (Allen) Lazard,” Jackson stated. “And No. 20, man, Breece Hall. He’s probably the most dynamic player, I would say, on that offense, and that’s saying a lot about him. Nothing to take away from the other guys. That’s just saying a lot about him. I think he’s one of the best backs in this league.”
Jackson will play a large role in doing that, just as he has through the first six games of the season.
The 28-year-old currently has the third-most interceptions (three) in the NFL, but he isn’t surprised like many are.
Jackson just thinks there weren’t many people tuning into to watch the first six years of his NFL career.
“I always knew what type of player I was. I always knew what type of players they had on this roster, and I knew what type of impact I would make. Just a lot of people haven’t watched a lot of Carolina Panthers games,” Jackson concluded. “Now I’m just in a comfortable, controlled environment, amongst a lot of great players, just focusing on playing my role and just making the most out of this opportunity.”
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
