Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones understands the priorities within his job description.
No. 1 is keeping Aaron Rodgers upright.
Jones, a 2023 first-round pick out of Georgia, was charged with three of the four sacks the Steelers allowed in a 34-32 victory against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J.
For Pittsburgh to remain successful, Jones also knows he must be better when the Steelers (1-0) play host to the Seattle Seahawks (0-1) on Sunday.
“I can’t put that on tape,” said Jones. “I know that everybody knows that. So, you know, we just can’t have that performance again. You know everything’s not going to always be perfect. But at the end of the day, it’s my job to protect Aaron and I didn’t do that.”
The 41-year-old Rodgers, in his 21st season, said his back was “a little tight” when he awoke Monday.
“I wasn’t moving as well as I wanted to,” said Rodgers, who was 22 of 30 for 244 yards and four touchdowns against his previous employer. “I didn’t take too many big shots.”
The Seahawks are capable of delivering those big shots with veteran edge rushers Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence. They hit visiting San Francisco’s Brock Purdy nine times in Seattle’s 17-13 defeat Sunday, with Purdy nursing multiple injuries in the aftermath.
Rodgers said he wasn’t too worried.
“I might be old, but I still feel like I can move around pretty good, and I wasn’t moving the way I usually like to move,” Rodgers said. “There’s a couple fundamental things to clean up, but (offensive line coach) Pat (Meyer) is going to take care of those guys, and I’ve just got to get the ball out.”
He’ll no doubt be looking for Pittsburgh’s new No. 1 wide receiver DK Metcalf, who gets the chance this week to go up against his former team. Metcalf, acquired in an offseason trade with Seattle, had four receptions for 83 yards against the Jets.
The Steelers signed veteran safety Jabrill Peppers and placed linebacker Malik Harrison (knee) and backup quarterback Skylar Thompson (hamstring) on injured reserve. Missing practice time were offensive tackle Calvin Anderson (illness), defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (knee), cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring) and safety DeShon Elliott (knee).
Behind new quarterback Sam Darnold, the Seahawks struggled to get their offense going in the opener, managing just 230 total yards.
They drove inside San Francisco’s 10-yard line in the final two minutes before Nick Bosa pushed offensive tackle Abraham Lucas into Darnold, forcing a fumble that Bosa recovered to thwart Seattle’s comeback bid.
“It seemed to me when we get it targeted and we’re all on the same page, we’re doing a lot of good stuff,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “When we have some indecisiveness, that’s when things got twisted a little bit … there’s a lot of stuff that we can build on moving forward.”
Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori suffered a high ankle sprain last weekend and Macdonald said the rookie is “week to week.” Cornerback Devon Witherspoon (knee) also missed practice time.
Without Metcalf and Tyler Lockett (Titans), Seattle elevated Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the lead receiver role and brought in former Rams All-Pro Cooper Kupp to work on the other side. Smith-Njigba was targeted on 59.1 percent of Seattle’s pass plays, setting up the potential for a juicy one-on-one matchup with Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey on Sunday. Ramsey typically won’t shadow receivers in the slot, which is one strategy Seattle might employ to keep the connection with Darnold going.
“He’s just a tough DB,” Metcalf said of Ramsey, former rivals turned teammates. “He’s not gonna back down from a fight, and he’s definitely gonna be physical at the point of attack.”
