Aaron Rodgers has been on a strong run over the last two weeks. The Steelers are 2-0, and Rodgers’ downfield passing game has suddenly reappeared after more than three years in hiding. He threw two touchdown passes to pad the lead in his team’s latest 28-15 win over the Miami Dolphins. However, he did absolutely nothing on Pittsburgh’s opening scoring play.
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Like most teams in the league today, the Steelers have their own version of the tush push. They do not use it in every short-yardage scenario, but they do use it relatively often. Unlike most teams, though, they do not use their quarterback to execute it.
Instead, Pittsburgh brings in fourth-string tight end Connor Heyward to take the snap. He was successful on three of four tush pushes on Monday Night Football, including a one-yard touchdown to get the Steelers on the board in the first quarter.
But, funny enough, it’s not Heyward’s actual tush pushes that are getting the most online chatter after the game. It’s Aaron Rodgers’ unintentionally comical pose during those plays. And for good reason. Take a look for yourself:
Aaron Rodgers on EVERY single Steelers tush push 😂 pic.twitter.com/3lpRmYWtYw
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 16, 2025
As seen above, Rodgers stands about 10 yards back from the action and puts his hands in his front hand warmer, indicating not only nonchalance but that there is no chance he’s going to be involved in the play. When the ball is snapped, he takes one hand out and points forward for a first down. He does it in such a matter-of-fact way that it’s nearly impossible not to laugh. And fans are certainly having fun with it:
Aaron Rodgers on every Steelers 4th and 1 pic.twitter.com/dsIzFbCmUK
— Stuckey (@Stuckey2) December 16, 2025
“The ultimate supervisor at work,” quipped one.
“You don’t know the power of the Tush Push” – Darth Rodgers,” joked another fan.
There is one fan who actually came up with a clever response to the whole Rodgers-stands-back-on-the-tush-push thing. Whether they were being serious or not, only they know. But it’s certainly something to chew on:
“I believe they are setting up the fake, Rodgers will throw one from that formation in January imo.”
We have seen teams do tush push fakes before, most notably the Philadelphia Eagles. Last year, Saquon Barkley bounced outside for a long touchdown on a tush push fake. Mark Andrews did the same for the Baltimore Ravens this year. We’ve also seen the Eagles flip it to tight end Dallas Goedert on a fake tush push.
And when it comes to fakes in general, there aren’t many better than Aaron Rodgers out there. Just a couple of weeks ago, against the Baltimore Ravens, Rodgers completed one of the best fakes of the 2025 season. Pittsburgh was on the goal line, and they faked the inside handoff.
Absolutely no one ran with Rodgers as he looped around on a naked bootleg and pretty much walked into the end zone before busting out the “Discount Double Check” celebration for the first time in years.
Head coach Mike Tomlin usually likes to play the short game, aka the “win now” game. But in this instance, he and the Steelers could very well be playing the ultra-long game, as they set up this fake tush push over the course of several months.
