{"id":56488,"date":"2025-06-17T02:36:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T02:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56488"},"modified":"2025-06-17T02:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T02:36:08","slug":"aaron-rodgers-arthur-smith-statistic-surfaces-ahead-of-steelers-pairing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56488","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Rodgers, Arthur Smith Statistic Surfaces Ahead of Steelers Pairing.."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0haven\u2019t won a playoff game since January 2017, but\u00a0Aaron Rodgers is looking to change that.<\/p>\n<p>The four-time MVP winner has made a career of completing impressive throws at a routine rate. Whether it be on the run, with a defender in his face, or with a unique arm angle, Rodgers\u2019 arm is still dangerous, even at age 41.<\/p>\n<p>He threw for 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for the\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0last season. Although throwing to star wide receivers Davante Adams and Garret Wilson played a huge role in that production, he might be able to do something similar in a much different offense.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"m-in-content-ad-row l-inline mm-in-content-ad-row--in-content not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-0\">\n<div class=\"m-in-content-ad not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-0\" data-zone-count=\"3\">\n<div class=\"not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d m-in-content-ad is-loaded\">\n<div id=\"ad-in_content-f3667e5f7f654e6db364436fd5ba55eb\" data-google-query-id=\"CJPMhoqy940DFRWV6QUdDaEQtw\" data-ad-size=\"0x0\">\n<p>Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith brings a run-heavy style, prioritizing a physical offense with a strong ground game. It sets up opportunities for play-action and bootleg schemes, emphasizing big passing plays.<\/p>\n<p>Misdirection, tight end engagement, and\u00a0quarterback\u00a0reads are key components of his system, which enable him to exploit defenses who are looking to stop the run.<\/p>\n<p>According to Steelers analyst Derrick Bell, Arthur Smith\u2019s offense ran the sixth most designed bootleg plays in 2024, something Rodgers excelled at, throwing for 283 yards and four touchdowns on those concepts.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-detail--body-item m-detail--body-twitter-embed\">\n<figure class=\"m-embed mm-embed--twitter l-inline\">\n<div class=\"rna-container rh-ineligible\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Steelers_DB\/status\/1934617137181499711\" data-rhp=\"1\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1934617137181499711&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fathlonsports.com%2Fnfl%2Faaron-rodgers-arthur-smith-combo-poised-to-be-a-perfect-match-&amp;sessionId=697c0bb639eed9f7795ddc0b438c570adf3e738c&amp;siteScreenName=athlonsports&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1934617137181499711\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rodgers\u2019 elite accuracy and quick decision-making should make for a strong connection under this scheme. His ability to read defenses and extend plays with strong pocket movement complements Smith\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n<p>The Steelers playmakers might not be as potent as New York\u2019s last year, but throwing to DK Metcalf and relying on Jaylen Warren and rookie Kaleb Johnson in the run game are great options to have.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a massive season for the Steelers, and the duo of Rodgers and Smith could potentially give Pittsburgh their best offense in multiple seasons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0haven\u2019t won a playoff game since January 2017, but\u00a0Aaron Rodgers is looking to change that. The four-time MVP winner has made a career of completing impressive&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Aaron Rodgers, Arthur Smith Statistic Surfaces Ahead of Steelers Pairing.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56488\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aaron Rodgers, Arthur Smith Statistic Surfaces Ahead of Steelers Pairing.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0haven\u2019t won a playoff game since January 2017, but\u00a0Aaron Rodgers is looking to change that. 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