Aaron Rodgres and the Pittsburgh Steelers won their second in a row on Monday night to push their record to 8-6. But unfortunately, they still have a ways to go to reach the promised land.
Thankfully, some old pals of Rodgers could actually help with that.
The Steelers are battling with the 7-7 Baltimore Ravens for AFC North supremacy and they play each other in Week 18. But Baltimore’s remaining schedule is a little tougher than Pittsburgh’s.
They host the 11-3 New England Patriots in Week 16. If they win that one and the Steelers beat the 8-6 Detroit Lions, it sets up for Pittsburgh to possibly clinch the division title in Week 17.
It would be their first division crown since 2020, a four-year drought that is Pittsburgh’s longest since the late 1980s. And their new QB’s old team could lend a hand: the Ravens head to frigid Wisconsin to take on the 9-4-1 Green Bay Packers in Week 17.
The Green Bay Packers could push the Steelers into the playoffs
Rodgers spent the first 18 years of his NFL career with the Packers, winning four MVPs and a Super Bowl title. He didn’t leave under exactly amicable circumstances when he left after the 2022 season, as he was traded to the New York Jets. But he has maintained relationships.
Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Davante Adams were all Packers teammates that have followed Rodgers to his post-Green Bay stops in New York and Pittsburgh.
When Pittsburgh played the Packers earlier this year, Rodgers was seen chatting with some of his old Green Bay buddies, whether workers, teammates, or coaches.
And now they can do Rodgers’ new team a favor, which would also help Rodgers end his own three-season playoff drought.
If Pittsburgh beats both the Lions as well as the Cleveland Browns in Week 17, and the Ravens lose to either the Patriots or Packers, the Steelers clinch the AFC North title.
And funny enough, the Packers could use a little help from the Steelers as well. For Green Bay to secure its playoff spot in the NFC this weekend, they need to not lose to the Chicago Bears, and the Steelers need to beat the Lions.
Could there be a little playoff quid pro quo between two of the oldest and most storied franchises in the NFL which are now connected by one of the great quarterbacks in league history?