Aaron Rodgers wasn't brought to the Pittsburgh Steelers as their starting quarterback at 41 before the 2025 NFL regular season just to produce a winning record and another playoff berth under coach Mike Tomlin. Now 42 and leading the new AFC North champions into next Monday night's home wild-card game, expectations for Rodgers will shift to delivering in the playoffs.
Rodgers hasn't won an NFL playoff game in five years, dating back to a NFC divisional round victory with the Packers. The Steelers, however, haven't won a playoff game in 9 years, going 0-5 since '18 through '25.
There should be some confidence that both losing streaks will come to a screeching halt with the Steelers hosting the AFC South runner-up Texans next Monday night (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN). Those good vibes come straight from how Rodgers performed in Pittsburgh's two biggest games, a pair of thrilling wins over the Ravens.
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Rodgers played his best game with his third NFL team in the 27-22 Week 14 win at Baltimore, showing off his classic big arm and efficient moxie. He didn't have the same downfield acumen or big-play wide receiver DK Metcalf in Sunday night's Week 18 rematch in Pittsburgh, but he compensated to outlast Lamar Jackson and Baltimore, 26-24.
The Ravens saw Rodgers pick them apart more methodically than suddenly, exploiting the holes in their secondary at the right times with his mental and physical toughness. The Steelers wouldn't have won either game or the division without him given some shocking defensive and special teams breakdowns.
The question turns to whether Rodgers still has something more left to give the Steelers a glimmer of hope to make a surprise run to Super Bowl 60. For starters, the Steelers could not have hand-picked a better wild-card matchup. Seeing the Texans at home is much better than a rematch vs. The Chargers or the Bills, two teams that beat them by a combined score of 51-17 during the season.
The Texans present a tough pass defense for Rodgers, but he will get Metcalf back from suspension to help him find the right matchups. Houston also isn't an offensive juggernaut, but rather a middle-of-the-pack scoring team much like Pittsburgh.
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The Steelers cooled off in Cleveland before surviving Baltimore again. The Texans go into the playoffs on a five-game winning streak, two wins better than the Steelers at 12-5.
But the Steelers had been trying to win recent playoff games with a fading Ben Roethlisberger, long-time backup Mason Rudolph and a washed Russell Wilson. They have also cycled through Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and Justin Fields at QB in recent seasons.
Tomlin has been exceptional to get his team to keep playing enough complementary football and translating it into winning football. Talent-wise with offense, the Steelers didn't have much of a shot in those playoff losses unless they played almost perfect defense, which they haven't had in while.
Rodgers now gives them a real chance because of his ability to make plays off script and adjusting well to the moment. He's not an all-time great and four-time MVP without his clutch makeup.
Roethlisberger had it for a long time for the Steelers. In relation to Big Ben at an advanced age, Rodgers is in a much better physical state with his arm and athleticism to come through in the near end of this career.
Whatever misery Rodgers endured at the end of his Packers' run and the nightmare he faced as a footnote in the Jets' long-time dysfunction, there's evidence of him enjoying playing QB again. What he has said often and the lack of drama with his teammates and coaches confirm this as such.
Now that Rodgers has loosened up well for them, the Steelers need to let Rodgers loose on the Texans. Houston can rush him well and has a tough secondary, but the Cardinals and Colts have exploited their vulnerabilities when a QB can get aggressive with them taking deep shots. Pittsburgh also has enough of a running game to facilitate Rodgers to that end with play action.
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When Rodgers tore his Achilles in his first game as a Jet in 2023 and followed that up with a rough 2024, there was real question on whether he should have retired about a year ago. Rodgers, the Steelers and Tomlin seemed like an odd fit, but it's made a lot more sense of late.
No one expected the Steelers to lose so many playoff games in a row with Tomlin, but it happened. No one expected the Rodgers-Steelers experiment to end well, but it has, so why not Rodgers keep defying expectations?
The Ravens' wins had the same intense feeling as playoff games. Those battle tests with the ultimate battler should make the Steelers a lot more prepared for the real war.