Aaron

Rodgers

Rodgers was far from sharp in this one, sailing his first interception over the head of alpha wide receiver DK Metcalf in addition to committing a fumble that would lead to a first half safety for the Los Angeles defense. His second interception was a deflection off the hands of Calvin Austin, so we’ll give him a pass on that one, but the theme of the game was inaccuracy and indecision for the veteran signal caller. The Chargers held the Steelers to only 221 yards of total offense as Rodgers failed to get anything going on offense, playing over 57 minutes of football before the team’s only touchdown of the game. Kicker Chris Boswell connected on a 59-yard field goal on the team’s second possession but missed another from 45 yards in the second quarter. Rodgers nearly doubled up on his interception total for the season, now sitting at five through nine games. The Steelers fall to 5-4, now just one game ahead of the surging Ravens, ahead of a divisional matchup with the Bengals in Week 11.

The Steelers forced six turnovers in Sunday’s win over the Colts and turned those turnovers into 24 points. Despite entering the fourth quarter with a 24-7 lead, it was anything but a dominant day for Rodgers and the offense, who averaged an underwhelming 3.7 yards per play and converted only four third downs on the afternoon. Rodgers did manage to connect with Pat Freiermuth on a 12-yard score two plays after the Steelers force an interception on Daniel Jones, but the Colts defense did what they could to give Rodgers and company fits despite facing numerous short fields. With DK Metcalf bottled up all afternoon, Rodgers looked to Calvin Austin and Darnell Washington to move the ball, as the two combined for 9-99-0 on 12 targets, with the longest pass of the day coming on a 19-yard strike to Austin that helped setup a short rushing score by Jaylen Warren. Rodgers is averaging just 5.9 YPA over the last two weeks and will need to get more out of his offense in Week 10 when they visit the Chargers on Sunday Night Football on NBC. He’ll be a QB2 in fantasy next week.

The vaunted Green Bay pass rush left its mark on Rodgers, routinely pressuring the veteran quarterback to climb the pocket and throw under duress. That was particularly true for Micah Parsons, who notched one sack and gave Rodgers someone to think about on nearly every dropback. Rodgers was attempting to become the first quarterback in NFL history to beat all 32 NFL teams but came up short in his first game against the Packers, leaving the accomplishment one unlikely to be achieved in the near future. The Steelers seemed to be in control after taking a nine-point lead into the break but were outscored 28-10 in the second half to drop to 4-3. The devastating loss by the Bengals earlier in the day keeps their lead at 1.5 games as we approach the midway point in the season, but their margin for error continues to erode after consecutive losses. That is not the best position to be in ahead of a Week 9 showdown with the 7-1 Colts.

The four-score game was Rodgers’ second of the season after he posted only one in all of 2024. That came in Week 18, no less. His yardage ceiling is still feeling hard-capped, however, as 249 is actually his most of 2025. Rodgers’ “two interceptions” are a bit misleading, as one was simply stolen out of DK Metcalf’s hands. The other was a deep ball that badly sailed. His most impressive touchdown was a 68-yard strike to Pat Freiermuth on a coverage bust. Rodgers is obviously playing better than he did in 2024, but with attempts and yards at a premium, he is maxing out as a low-end QB2 because of his complete lack of rushing ability. He’s a more valuable “real life” asset than fantasy. Week 8 is a “revenge game” with the Packers, but Green Bay will be just as interested in dishing it out as Rodgers.

Rodgers and company didn’t face much resistance in this one. The Steelers never trailed in Sunday’s contest, and Rodgers kept the offense on schedule as the Steelers averaged 5.8 yards per play on the day. The Steelers’ QB1 kickstarted things with a 36-yard pass to Darnell Washington on the game’s opening play, and flipped a pass to six-yard completion to Jaylen Warren on third down on a signature improv play. Rodgers’ first touchdown pass of the day came in the third quarter when he found Connor Heyward for a 12-yard score in the back of the end zone, and he later connected with DK Metcalf on a deep 25-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter. Rodgers and the Steelers now sit on a 4-1 record through six weeks, and the 41-year-old quarterback is boasting a 1,021-10-3 line over that span. He’ll profile as a decent QB2 play on the short week against the Bengals in Week 7.

Rodgers was dialed in versus Minnesota, averaging 9.1 yards per attempt while completing 82 percent of his passes. The bulk of his fantasy output came on an 80-yard touchdown throw to DK Metcalf. Rodgers hit Metcalf on a mid-range crossing route and Metcalf sprinted past the entire Minnesota secondary for Rodgers’ 91st career completion of 50 or more yards. He now holds the record alone in that totally real stat. Rodgers still has some juice as a real-life passer, but his fantasy outlook is severely capped as an immobile, low-volume option. He will be stuck at the back of the QB2 ranks when the Steelers return to face the Browns after their Week 5 bye.

Pelissero added, “But they pretty quickly decided and informed Rodgers that they were rolling with J.J. McCarthy.” Rodgers was likely interested in playing for Minnesota as the starter while the Vikings could only commit to a camp battle between him and their No. 10 overall pick from 2024. The team ultimately signed Carson Wentz to be McCarthy’s backup. Wentz is now the team’s starter with McCarthy sidelined because of an ankle injury. It’s a long season, but Pelissero’s report is a reminder that the Vikings were doing their due diligence on other quarterbacks even with McCarthy penciled in as the starter. If Wentz plays well during his interim gig, it’s not outlandish to think he could remain the starter even once McCarthy is healthy.

It was a typical day for old man Rodgers. He missed a handful of throws and let his receivers hear about it after the play. Rodgers also nailed a pair of end zone fades to Calvin Austin and DK Metcalf. He largely took what the defense gave him, which was often check-downs to Jaylen Warren or Jonnu Smith. Warren led the team in receptions and Smith finished the day tied for second on the team in catches, alongside Austin and Metcalf. Rodgers still has some tricks in his bag, but his ceiling looks severely limited these days. He should be able to game-manage his way through the year, but the fantasy outlook remains modest at best.

Rodgers struggled through most of the day, delivering a couple impressive throws under pressure in the second half but airmailing a handful of attempts to open targets. Rodgers spread out his attempts, mostly to short-area pass catchers. Last week against the Jets he averaged a meager 4.3 air yards per attempt, this week it was up to 7.2. The lack of pass volume in the Pittsburgh offense combined with Rodgers’ limited throwing ability and accuracy struggles leaves the grizzled veteran outside the top-20 fantasy options on a weekly basis. Rodgers will take on a weak New England secondary in Week 3.

Rodgers said he “wasn’t moving that well” and ended up running into “at least one or two sacks” because of it. Rodgers adds that his offensive line’s pass protection “was good for most of the game.” At 41 years old, back tightness can be expected. We do not think this is anything to worry about, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the injury report just in case.