It was supposed to be a defining night for Aaron Rodgers. A reunion with the franchise that made him an icon was a chance to remind everyone he could still summon the old magic. For two quarters, it looked that way. Then, as the night unfolded, the game became a stark reflection of where Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers truly stand in 2025. They are efficient and respectable, but outpaced by a league that’s moved on.
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The four-time MVP faced his former team, the Green Bay Packers, for the first time on Sunday night. Rodgers was sharp early, leading the Steelers to a 16–7 halftime lead behind a balanced offensive attack and three long-range field goals from Chris Boswell. But the Packers flipped the script in the second half.
Storming back for a 35–25 victory, they revealed a widening gap between an innovative Green Bay squad and an increasingly conservative Steelers operation.
NFL analyst Colin Cowherd weighed in on the loss, saying Rodgers’ new team looks alarmingly similar to the last one that frustrated him.
“Aaron’s been very good for the Steelers’ offense, and Green Bay made the smart move going with Jordan Love,” Cowherd said on The Herd. “I think Aaron now realizes what we said before he went to Pittsburgh: the Jets and the Steelers have the same issues. Defense first. One’s got better ownership, but Pittsburgh’s got issues too.”
Cowherd described both franchises as “loose and outdated”, suggesting they’re stuck in old-school mindsets that don’t fit the modern NFL.
“They’re not current,” he said. “Fourth and three? They punt or kick a field goal. Aaron’s doing all he can with a defensive coach and an old philosophy. The Steelers are just a better-run version of the Jets.”
Cowherd also emphasized that Rodgers isn’t the problem — if anything, he’s overperforming. The 41-year-old ranks second in the league in touchdown passes, completing 68% of his throws with a 104 passer rating and 16 total touchdowns through eight weeks.
“You’d take that a thousand times out of a thousand,” Cowherd said. “Aaron’s doing as much as a 41-year-old quarterback can.”
Rodgers finished 24 of 36 for 219 yards and two touchdowns, keeping the Steelers steady but unable to match Green Bay’s explosive second half.
The Packers, led by Rodgers’ successor Jordan Love, were a vision of what the future looks like. Love shredded Pittsburgh’s defense for 360 yards and three scores, completing 29 of 37 passes and connecting with 10 different receivers. At one point, he strung together 20 consecutive completions, displaying the decisiveness and creativity that Rodgers once trademarked in Green Bay.
Defensively, the contrast was even more striking. The Packers’ young, athletic unit, anchored by Micah Parsons, Quay Walker, and Xavier McKinney, overwhelmed Pittsburgh up front and swarmed to the ball. Parsons disrupted nearly every Steelers drive, generating pressure on more than half of Rodgers’ dropbacks. The Steelers’ aging offensive line struggled to protect, and their reliance on heavy sets and conservative play-calling left them predictable.
