The Week 1 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets was the ultimate revenge game.
Aaron Rodgers was squaring off against this former mates, the Jets, and Justin Fields was on the other sideline after spending 2024 with the Steelers.
Both quarterbacks played extremely well in the season-opener, but it was Rodgers who walked out of MetLife Stadium with a win.
Rodgers had avoided the revenge-game narrative ever since we knew he'd face the Jets in Week 1, and that didn't change in the week leading up to the contest.
After the game, Rodgers was asked about beating Jets head coach Aaron Glenn after their ugly exit meeting earlier this year. He had the perfect response.
“I was happy to beat everyone associated with the Jets,” Rodgers said.
It isn't clear if Rodgers was trying to throw shade there or if he just meant it as a general statement to avoid throwing shade. Either way, we love it.
While Rodgers' career with the Jets was ugly, his exit was even uglier.
According to Rodgers, he flew across the country to meet with the Jets before he was told 20 seconds by head coach Aaron Glenn that the team was going in a different direction. Rodgers was less than pleased by this.
“So we sit down and I think we’re going to have this long conversation, and 20 seconds in and he (Glenn) goes: You sure you wanna play football? And I said yes, and he said, 'We’re going in another direction,'" Rodgers revealed.
“There wasn’t an ample amount of respect," Rodgers added.
The future Hall of Fame quarterback might not admit it publicly, but the win versus the Jets definitely meant more to him than a typical victory after what transpired in New York.
Not only did he stick it to his former team and head coach, he also showed that he has plenty left in the tank.
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