Not every media member is convinced that Aaron Rodgers’ pairing with the Pittsburgh Steelers will be a train wreck on or off the field. Weighing in on Monday, ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg, a New York Jets fan who watched Rodgers last season, offered one of the most optimistic visions for how this season will look.
“The advanced statistics say Aaron Rodgers was a bad quarterback last year,” Greenberg said on Get Up. “My eyes said otherwise. Watching every snap of the team the second half of the season, I did not think Rodgers was bad.”
ESPN’s QBR metric, a more advanced QB rating figure that’s more weighted beyond aggregate numbers, ranked Rodgers just 28th last season. He trailed the likes of Kirk Cousins, Aidan O’Connell, and then-Steelers’ starter Russell Wilson. But Rodgers’ top line numbers were more impressive, throwing for just shy of 3,900-yards and 28 touchdowns. Healthy down the stretch, his play was even stronger and finished with a four-touchdown showing in a win over the Miami Dolphins.
In New York, Rodgers was the face. Traded over from the Green Bay Packers as the franchise’s best quarterback since Joe Namath. He immediately vaulted the Jets into the Super Bowl conversation. In Pittsburgh, the pressure is off.
“Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have to be the face of the franchise,” Greenberg said. “He doesn’t have to carry everything. They’re not asking him how to teach young players how to win.”
Rodgers won’t have as high expectations in Pittsburgh. In part because the last two seasons were so disappointing. A 2023 Achilles’ tear four plays into the year, a 2024 season where the coaching staff and front office were given pink slips, with Rodgers himself released under the Jets’ new regime. Still, Greenberg’s point isn’t fully accurate. Rodgers is commanding a young offense looking for leadership. Pittsburgh has it defensively, but has lacked offensively. A group that hasn’t done much winning at the NFL level, at least not the kind in the postseason. Rodgers is supposed to help, and he’s publicly embraced the role.
All that matters are results. Greenberg says Rodgers will deliver.
“I think this is going to go way better than most people are anticipating,” he said. “I think he’s going to play well and the Steelers are going to win a bunch of games.”
“Bunch of games” isn’t clearly defined, and to a Jets fan like Greenberg, that could mean ten. New York hasn’t won that many since 2015. Over the same span, Pittsburgh has matched or beaten that mark six times.
It’s an aggressive and optimistic big-picture view, but one that could come true. If the Steelers’ offensive line develops and protects, if the offense leads with a steady running game, and if the defense returns to form, Rodgers can play his role and thrive. That test begins September 7 against his former team.
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