On Wednesday, the NFL unveiled its 2025 schedule—and if you are a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, you probably did a double-take.
Week 1 sends Mike Tomlin’s crew to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Jets in a season opener that feels lifted from a football-themed remake of The Parent Trap.
Here’s the twist: By the time the Steelers take the field, they might be led by Aaron Rodgers. Yes, the same Rodgers who started for the Jets last season.
Rodgers finished the 2024 campaign with a solid individual stat line: 3,897 passing yards (8th in the league) and 27 touchdowns (tied for 7th). But the Jets stumbled to a 5-12 finish, and a new front office led by Aaron Glenn opted to move in a different direction.
Now a free agent, he could land in Pittsburgh—a team that’s made bold and unpredictable moves all offseason.
Pittsburgh Steelers Week 1 matchup will be a must see cinematic event
Meanwhile, on the other side will be Justin Fields, the same quarterback who started six games for the Steelers in 2024, going 4-2 before being benched in Week 7 against Rodgers and the Jets, of all teams.
His benching was never clearly justified, and the handling of his development led to an uneasy split early this offseason. Fields eventually signed with the Jets and now has a golden opportunity to show the Steelers what they gave up on.
If Rodgers signs with Pittsburgh, the irony is almost cinematic: two quarterbacks essentially switching places, with their former teams watching closely to see who got the better end of the deal.
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It’s hard not to see shades of a “Parent Trap” scenario—two franchises, two former quarterbacks, one big reunion under the bright lights of MetLife Stadium.
Beyond the storylines, NFL schedule-makers knew what they were doing. They saw two franchises with overlapping offseason drama and wove it into the opening act. The stakes are high, and the emotions even higher.
Week 1 is not just a test of talent. It will test decisions. For the Steelers, it may be a moment of reckoning for how they handled the most vital position in football.