PITTSBURGH -- Aaron Rodgers took four sacks in his Steelers debut, but the quarterback said Wednesday that his back was "a little tight" and limited his mobility, contributing to breakdowns in pass protection against the Jets.
Rodgers didn't miss any practice leading up to Sunday's season opener, and he wasn't on the injury report.
"I don't think I was moving that well, so I think I ran kind of into at least one or two sacks," Rodgers said. "I got to do a better job of using my legs. 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.
"I thought the protection was good for most of the game. There's a couple fundamental things to clean up, but [offensive line coach] Pat [Meyer]'s taking care of those guys, and I just got to get the ball out."
Rodgers' day didn't get off to an auspicious start when he was sacked on the Steelers' first play. Nose tackle Quinnen Williams pushed through left tackle Broderick Jones, corralled Rodgers by the waist and brought him to the ground as the pocket collapsed.
"That's probably the most stressful thing on us is, and to start the game off like that," offensive tackle Troy Fautanu said Wednesday. "Obviously, if you start a game off like that it can't get any worse. ... I felt like we did a better job going into the game as we settled in."
On Tuesday, coach Mike Tomlin emphasized the importance of protecting Rodgers in the Steelers' home opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
"I'd like to see us do a better job of protecting Aaron, particularly on play pass," Tomlin said. "You absorb certain risk executing play pass in an effort to get yards in chunks, but that risk shouldn't manifest itself in the form of multiple sacks like it did when you're prepared and in good. As a staff and as a collective, we got to be a little bit better in that space."
Jones gave up three sacks in his first game as the team's starting left tackle after spending the bulk of his first two seasons at right, but even so, Rodgers expressed confidence in the 2023 first-round pick.
"I really like Brod," Rodgers said. "I've gotten to know him during training camp, and I like what he is about. I like his attitude. He's a genuinely positive guy, and I got a lot of confidence in him watching my back."
Jones was blunt in his assessment of his game.
"I got to be better," he said. "Just got to continue to focus. I can't put that on tape. I know that. Everybody knows that. We just can't have that performance again."
For Jones and the entire offensive line, there's an adjustment and an added pressure that comes with protecting Rodgers. In Jones' previous seasons, he worked with more mobile -- and younger -- quarterbacks in Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. Last season, Wilson was sacked at least four times in five different games, while Fields was sacked four times only once.
Not only is Rodgers a different style of quarterback, but he's also the oldest at 41 years old.
"He's really not a mobile threat to anyone," Jones said with a chuckle. "Even though he [could] still tuck it and run one of these days, you just got to be prepared. But he's an older quarterback. He's seasoned in the game. We just got to continue to try and keep him upright, give him enough time to make his reads and put the ball on the money we need him to."
One target Rodgers will be looking for again this weekend is wide receiver DK Metcalf, who will face the team that selected him in the second round of the 2019 draft and traded him to the Steelers this offseason.
Even with his history, Metcalf isn't adding any extra significance to this game.
"Ain't no extra juice," he said. "It's just another team on the schedule that just so happens to be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers."