The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to face the Green Bay Packers in a battle of first-place teams this upcoming Sunday night in the Steel City. However, this is not just another regular season game between good NFL teams. For the first time in his career, future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers will face the team that he was a part of for a franchise-record 18 seasons. Seeing as Rodgers is 41 years of age and the Steelers and Packers play in different conferences, this could be the only time Rodgers faces his former team in his storied career.
Gary A. Vasquez / Associated Press
The Pittsburgh Steelers face off against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV.
93.7 The Fan's Joe Starkey recently put the battle between Green Bay and Pittsburgh into perspective with a massive emphasis on Rodgers facing the team he won a Super Bowl with against his current team.
"We're talking about this being the Steelers' highest profiled game maybe in a decade," said Starkey. "This one just feels like the entire NFL world is going to have its eyes on this game to see an all-time great, a legend in Aaron Rodgers, going against his former team. Two good teams. Two flagship NFL franchises with legendary pasts colliding here."
Games like this really do not come around all that often. Yes, great teams face each other every week in the NFL. However, very rarely do fans get a chance to witness what is going to happen on Sunday night. Rodgers accomplished everything that young quarterbacks dream about in Green Bay. The four-time MVP became a champion and record-holder over his historic career there. Much like Tom Brady and the New England Patriots or Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, that is the same level that Rodgers was on with the Packers.
Green Bay Packers
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers celebrates with teammates after a touchdown.
Rodgers, who was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft back in 2005, was traded from the Packers to the New York Jets before the start of the 2023 season. After a couple of bumpy seasons there, he became a free agent, which led to him signing with the Steelers. After a solid 4-2 start as the team's starter, Rodgers is now preparing to face his old team that decided to move on from him in favor of Jordan Love.
Steelers Could Use Big Win Over Packers
Despite a good start to the 2025 season, Head Coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers have a bad taste in their mouths after a recent road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and veteran quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco shredded the Pittsburgh defense as he threw for 342 passing yards and three touchdowns. As good as Rodgers played (four touchdown passes), the Steelers fell 33-31. All of a sudden, there is a race in the AFC North with the Bengals just a game back in the division.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin observes practice during 2025 training camp while star pass rusher TJ Watt runs drills.
After this loss, Tomlin and co. are set to face off against a pair of division leaders over the next two weeks in the aforementioned Packers and Indianapolis Colts. Then, they will have to travel out West to face the Los Angeles Chargers before facing the Bengals again, who just beat them. If the Steelers, especially on defense, do not start to reel their focus back in, things could get out of hand quickly.
That is just part of the reason why this Sunday night game against the Packers is so important. Not only is this a matchup of legendary franchises that are in first place in their respective divisions and not only is the Rodgers angle super fascinating, but the Steelers themselves could use a big win to get back on track. One thing that is for sure is that a lot of eyes will be on Acrisure Stadium on Sunday night, perhaps more so than any other regular season game in a long, long time. This could very well be a once-in-a-generation battle when you consider everything that is at stake for both franchises and one particular quarterback.
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