The date is set for the Green Bay Packers’ game at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Will it be Jordan Love vs. Aron Rodgers?
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers allegedly will play at the Pittsburgh Steelers in primetime on Sunday night in Week 8.
Will there be a marquee battle of quarterbacks when these teams meet at 7:20 p.m. on Oct. 26?
Legendary former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers remains unsigned but is considered the likely starter for the Steelers in 2025. If Rodgers eventually signs with the Steelers, it would set up a quarterbacking matchup for the ages between Rodgers and Jordan Love.
In 2009, former Packers quarterback Brett Favre signed with the Vikings after one year with the Jets. Favre beat the Packers twice, 30-23 at Lambeau Field in October and 38-26 at Minnesota in November.
Favre left Green Bay filled with animosity toward his former team. The same isn’t true for Rodgers, who was traded to the Jets before the 2023 NFL Draft.
Before Week 1 of the 2023 season, Rodgers eagerly talked to Packers On SI about Love replacing him as the starting quarterback.
“It’s never going to feel like this overwhelming sense of, ‘How do I fill this guy’s shoes? What do I have to do?’ I promise you, I know he feels the same way. And it’s not a slight to me, like it wouldn’t be a slight to Brett. It’s exciting. You’re the guy. You get to do whatever you want to do and lead how you want to lead. It’s not like this incredibly crazy, ‘How am I going to actually play football?’ It’s like, ‘No, now I get a chance to play football.’ And he’s got the right attitude.
“The shoes are never as big as you think they are. The mantle is never as heavy as you think it is. The crown is heavy of being the leader, but it’s not like living up to these expectations or whatever it might be around who I was or what I did. It’s all about him and what he’s doing and how he’s going to lead, and he’ll be just fine.”
Rodgers, of course, suffered a torn Achilles in his debut game with the Jets. Last year, he started all 17 games, but the Jets went a woeful 5-12, which led to a housecleaning that swept out of New York.
Despite having a premier receiver tandem with Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams, Rodgers put up ho-hum numbers with a 90.5 passer rating. That was the lowest mark of his career as a starter; his previous lowest rating was 91.1 during his final season in Green Bay in 2022.
Among 27 qualifying quarterbacks, here’s where Rodgers and Love ranked last season.
Passer rating: Rodgers, 19th (90.5). Love, 11th (96.7).
Passing yards: Rodgers, eighth (3,897). Love, 19th (3,389).
Completion percentage: Rodgers, 24th (63.0). Love, 23rd (63.1).
Touchdowns: Rodgers, tied for seventh (28). Love, 10th (25).
Interceptions: Rodgers, tied for 16th (11). Love, tied for 16th (11).
For now, the Steelers remain in a holding pattern regarding Rodgers’ future.
“I’m not going to forecast the ifs and whens regarding not only him, but any other potential free agent,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said last month. “We’ve had really productive talks with him, and I’ve enjoyed having productive talks with him and getting to know him.”
Retirement is a possibility for the 41-year-old.
“I’m open to anything and attached to nothing,” Rodgers said last month on The Pat McAfee Show. He added, “I’m in a different phase of my life. I’m 41 years old, I’m in a serious relationship, people in my inner circle battling difficult stuff. To make a commitment to a team is a big thing.”
Of the Steelers, Rodgers said, “The lines of communication are open and the people that need to know know what’s going on.”
After parting ways with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, the Steelers’ quarterbacks are Mason Rudolph, who is 9-8-1 as a starter with an 84.7 passer rating, rookie sixth-round pick Will Howard and former seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson, who went 1-2 in three starts with the Dolphins.
Rodgers in NFL history ranks No. 1 all-time with a 102.6 passer rating. He’s also fifth in touchdown passes (503) and seventh in passing yards (62,952) and completions (5,369). His 4.34 touchdown-to-interception ratio is No. 1 by an enormous margin, with the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson a distant second at 3.39.
In Packers history, Favre has Rodgers beat in yards (61,655 to 59,055), but Rodgers is No. 1 in touchdown passes (475 to 442).
In passer rating, Rodgers is first (103.6) and Love is second (95.1). In completion percentage, Rodgers is first (65.3) and Love is second (63.5).