Aaron Rodgers looked like his old self in his Steelers debut, tossing four touchdowns in Sunday's 34-32 win over the Jets. But the hits he took along the way left one Pittsburgh legend uneasy.
Videos by FanBuzz
AP Photo/Brett Carlsen, File
On his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast, the former Steelers quarterback applauded Rodgers' performance while questioning how long the 41-year-old can withstand that kind of punishment.
"The positive that I saw was Aaron Rodgers threw the ball. Listen, his arm works just fine. He can throw the ball all over the place," Roethlisberger said. "The only thing — there were four sacks. None of those that I saw were Aaron's fault... My concern is going to be, moving forward, can Aaron take a beating like that every week? Not at that age."
Rodgers was sacked four times and hit several others, but still finished with 244 passing yards and a statement win over his former team. After a rocky exit from New York, he admitted the victory meant something extra.
"I was happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets," Rodgers said. "...There were probably people in the organization that didn't think I could play anymore. It was nice to remind those people that I still can."
Roethlisberger, who won two Super Bowls in Pittsburgh, said the Steelers' offensive line must improve if Rodgers is going to last the season. "If that doesn't improve, we're not going to have a quarterback very long and it's going to be a rough season," he warned.
The Steelers host the Seahawks in their home opener Sunday at 1 p.m.
