Aaron Rodgers wouldn't be the first notable Steelers quarterback to play with a broken left wrist

Aaron Rodgers is slated to make history that he likely didn't anticipate making during his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Rodgers, who is reportedly dealing with a minor fracture in his left wrist that was sustained during the Steelers' win over the Bengals on Sunday, is in position to join another notable Pittsburgh quarterback who played with a broken left wrist. That quarterback was none other than Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, who played the majority of the 1977 season with a broken left wrist after he sustained the injury during a Week 4 loss to the Oilers. 

Bradshaw's injury that day, in addition to an in-game injury to backup Mike Kruczek, led to then-Steelers rookie defensive back and future Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy playing quarterback for a significant portion of the game. Dungy, a former college quarterback for Minnesota, made NFL history that day by becoming the first player to throw and record an interception in the same game. 

Despite the injury, Bradshaw didn't miss a start the remainder of the year. He threw for a then-career-high 2,523 yards, but he also threw more interceptions (19) than touchdown passes (17) for a Pittsburgh team that finished 9-5. 

In the first round of the playoffs, Bradshaw threw three more interceptions as Pittsburgh fell to the eventual AFC champion Broncos. 

While many assumed Pittsburgh's dynasty was over following its second straight non-Super Bowl season, the Steelers instead capped off the 1970s by becoming the first team to win four Super Bowls. The Steelers also became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice. 

The catalyst for much of that success was Bradshaw, who took full advantage of the NFL's new rules that prohibited defenses while encouraging higher-scoring games. In 1978 (the first year the new rules were in effect), Bradshaw won league and Super Bowl MVP honors as Pittsburgh dethroned the Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII. Pittsburgh successfully defended its title a year later as Bradshaw became the second player in history (the first being former Packers quarterback Bart Starr) to win multiple Super Bowl MVPs. 

Nearly 50 years after Bradshaw played with a broken left wrist, Rodgers is reportedly trying to do the same thing this weekend in Chicago against a Bears franchise that he tormented during his time with the Packers. 

Including the playoffs, Rodgers went 25-5 against the Bears during his years in Green Bay, a record that inspired him to declare that he "owns" the franchise during a 2021 win in the Windy City, a place the Steelers haven't won in since 1995.