Aaron Rodgers said this week he has "no animosity toward" the Green Bay Packers. But the longtime quarterback may have some against his own team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, after Sunday night's performance. Matched up against his former employer, Rodgers controlled the ball to give his new club an early lead. By the end of Week 8's anticipated showdown, however, the Packers were way out in front, riding a monster night from tight end Tucker Kraft, plus timely pass rush led by Micah Parsons, to a 35-25 victory.
The 41-year-old Rodgers, who shared a pregame hug with Packers coach Matt LaFleur, showcased vintage touch to help Pittsburgh enter halftime up 16-7. Unfortunately, for his sake, Pittsburgh's defense fully looked its age, with veteran defensive backs like Darius Slay and DeShon Elliott struggling to halt Green Bay's aerial attack. Rodgers' successor, Jordan Love, tied Brett Favre's record for consecutive completions (20) while feeding Kraft, who shed countless tackles to rack up 143 yards receiving and two scores.
The Packers' front seven also stepped up in a big way to defend Green Bay's second-half lead, with Parsons and Rashan Gary routinely pressuring Rodgers as the Steelers fought to stay in the mix. Linebacker Quay Walker also provoked Pittsburgh wideout DK Metcalf into a critical personal foul as the Steelers tried to claw back. By the time Rodgers hit Roman Wilson for a tight-window touchdown pass to pull the home team within 10, the game had already all but been decided.
Here are some big-picture takeaways from the Packers' win, which vaults Green Bay to 5-1-1 on the 2025 season, dropping the Steelers to 4-3 atop the AFC North:
Tucker Kraft was a man on a mission for the Packers in this one, but none of his catches were as ridiculous as this 59-yard grab, which started with Jordan Love making a desperation heave under pressure and ended with a nasty stiff-arm down the field:
Maybe it won't be underrated after this game, but good for Green Bay if that's the case. Look, Love hasn't been perfect this season. But he was nearly flawless when it mattered against the Steelers on Sunday night. Forget jitters about going up against his old mentor. The Packers quarterback of the present was totally at ease under every circumstance, especially in the second half, and he remains one of the NFL's most aesthetically pleasing deep-ball throwers, putting just the right loft on the ball. Let's not undersell the depth of Love's pass catching corps, too: Tucker Kraft was a phenomenal yards-after-catch machine, but Romeo Doubs also came up clutch, and eight (!) others also secured at least one pass. And Jayden Reed wasn't even on the field to be part of the fun!
The one thing that didn't go wrong for Pittsburgh against the Packers was, well, the guy who used to play quarterback for Green Bay. Even in the face of relatively steady pressure, Rodgers did what he could to keep the Steelers competitive. His two scores and zero picks speak to his ball control, but his stat line is also misleading in that it doesn't convey how many laser-accurate darts he delivered that simply weren't caught; DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin and Jonnu Smith were among those who failed to keep hold of critical throws. How much can you expect a 41-year-old pocket passer to carry you? Steelers coach Mike Tomlin should put all his focus on shoring up a slow defense, or at least keeping the emotions of elite talents like Metcalf in check during crunch time.
You could probably make this case for plenty of other teams. This also doesn't mean the Packers aren't capable of a comeback, as evidenced by their Sunday night resurgence against Pittsburgh. But look at their lineup: Josh Jacobs had a quiet evening, and yet the Packers still outgained the Steelers on the ground, with Emanuel Wilson offering some valuable late-game output. On the other side, Parsons and Rashan Gary (combined three sacks) are built to turn up the heat while defending a lead. Could they still have trouble going blow for blow with title contenders like, say, the Philadelphia Eagles, who will come to Lambeau Field in November? Sure. But the Packers' personnel has them well equipped to remain among said contenders for the duration of 2025.
Credit to the Steelers for fighting back in the waning minutes, and mostly to Rodgers for slinging it with effortless precision, even if this one's mostly decided:
This will about do it with five minutes to play, capping a scrappy and then increasingly sloppy night for the Steelers:
This is starting to feel like a decisive Packers win all of a sudden. Rodgers didn't get much time to operate on another third-and-long, with the Micah Parsons-led pass rush once again easily collapsing Pittsburgh's front. But the real kicker on the Steelers' latest failed drive was DK Metcalf losing his cool in a jawing match with Quay Walker, losing his team another 15 yards with a personal foul. Not the time to be letting emotions boil over, but it might be too little, too late for Mike Tomlin's squad.
This is ridiculous at this point: Jordan Love to Tucker Kraft again! Pittsburgh has no answers for the tight end, who's now up to 143 yards and two scores on seven catches. Where is the second and third level of the Steelers' defense? No match for Kraft.
Pittsburgh isn't setting itself up for easy third-down conversions during the second half, and that means Green Bay is even more comfortable sending Micah Parsons to play pocket disruptor; the star edge rusher is frequently coming after Aaron Rodgers from behind the nose tackle, and he got home to set up a second-and-20. The ensuing Steelers punt brought some pushing, shoving and maybe even a few punches, however, with Ben Skowronek, Nate Herbig and Javon Bullard at the middle of the skirmish.
You can't teach this kind of downfield magic: Love pulled a little Brett Favre at the close of the third quarter, rolling right and launching off-balance across the field ... somehow right over the leaping Juan Thornhill and into the arms of a speeding Christian Watson. The wild throw and catch also set up Josh Jacobs' first rushing touchdown of the night, as well as a wide-open two-point toss from Love to Romeo Doubs to put Green Bay back in front.
Elliott was carted off the field and to the Steelers' locker room after his leg was trapped in a tackle of Packers tight end Tucker Kraft. The veteran safety was in coverage against Kraft when the latter secured an improbable 59-yard heave from Jordan Love.
Aaron Rodgers executed a heads-up play to avoid a potential giveaway, tossing the ball at the ground at the last second while under attack in the pocket; officials initially ruled that Rodgers had fumbled but overturned the call upon replay. Then Boswell's leg showed up yet again, kicking the Steelers' third field goal of more than 50 yards against Green Bay. This game has been a constant back-and-forth of near-misses, and Pittsburgh just happens to be perfect when it comes to the kicking game.
Matt LaFleur drew up some movement for speedy rookie Savion Williams, who then sprinted into the end zone for an 8-yard catch-and-run score, giving Green Bay its second touchdown of the evening. But the real star of the show is Kraft, who's already up to five catches for 117 yards and a score of his own. The Packers are feeding their most reliable (and most rugged) weapon tonight.
The Packers might've gotten away with one while forcing a quick Steelers punt to start the second half:
The play of the night might belong to Tucker Kraft, who already broke free of several tackles earlier for a big score: Going deep, the tight end somehow corrals a desperation heave from Jordan Love, who releases the ball as he's about to take a shot in the pocket, and then scurries for more to finish with a 59-yard gain. DeShon Elliott was defending and clearly afraid of getting called for pass interference while that ball was coming down, but he ended up paying for it anyway. Elliott also required help to get off the field afterward, suffering a leg injury.
One half is down, so here are our top observations:
We've officially got a special teams problem in Green Bay: After coming up short on a 57-yard field goal try to start the second quarter, Brandon McManus missed a second straight kick to close the first half, this time from 44 yards. The veteran had made 7 of 9 field goal tries before suffering a quad injury a few weeks ago, but his misses register as especially detrimental against the Steelers considering his injury replacement, Lucas Havrisik, was a perfect 10 for 10 on combined field goals and extra points. As a reminder, the Packers deactivated Havrisik for this game due to McManus' return. They might be headed for another switch after this one.
Now we've seen a complete Steelers drive, and Aaron Rodgers saved it for right before halftime. Pittsburgh benefited from a defensive pass interference call on Packers corner Keisean Nixon, who was all but forced into contact on an underthrown Rodgers loft to Calvin Austin. But then A-Rod went right after Nixon on consecutive plays in the red zone, too, hitting DK Metcalf across the middle and then staring him down before a vintage dart for the score. We should also credit Mike Tomlin's defense for tightening up since its soft start, preventing Jordan Love and Co. from converting even a single third down for close to 30 straight minutes of game time.
Pittsburgh found its first lead with just under six minutes left in the first half, going up 9-6 on Chris Boswell's third field goal of the night. The kick came after an equally promising and panicked drive, in which Aaron Rodgers lofted another would-be score to DK Metcalf, only for the pass to get tipped by a leaping Evan Williams, then later had to dump it off on third-and-long due to Micah Parsons pressure. The Steelers have yet to really finish a drive, but they're at least chipping away against a rangy Packers front.
Aaron Rodgers put perfect touch on a deep floater to his top target (off his back foot, too, in trademark style), but the former Seattle Seahawks star couldn't hang on thanks to excellently timed hand-fighting from Packers corner Carrington Valentine. Rodgers was visibly exasperated after the play, but it's unclear what prompted his ire: a missed signal, or a missed penalty, or Metcalf's inability to outmuscle Valentine for the ball? Either way, it was a great stop from the Green Bay secondary to prevent six points.
McManus' attempt was from 57 yards out and came up short, which isn't egregious on the surface. The miss may raise questions about Green Bay's special teams decisions, however, given journeyman Lucas Havrisik went a perfect 10 for 10 on combined field goals and extra points in place of McManus in the Packers' previous two games. Havrisik was a healthy scratch for "Sunday Night Football" after McManus was cleared to return from a quadriceps injury.
Jordan Love isn't having much trouble moving the ball against Pittsburgh while on the road. And Tucker Kraft is a big reason why, this time taking a routine pass 33 yards after easily shedding a would-be tackle by Joey Porter Jr. Pretty much every one of the Steelers' big-name defensive backs has missed on an open-field tackle by this point. Hence the Packers owning six first downs to Pittsburgh's one, and averaging more than 11.5 yards per pass, after one quarter of action.
Pittsburgh may be known for its physical defense under Mike Tomlin, but physicality was far from the Steelers' defining characteristic against the Packers' second offensive series. Green Bay took its time picking apart the middle of the field, with Jordan Love connecting with Romeo Doubs twice, then hitting Tucker Kraft for a touchdown to cap a 67-yard scoring drive. Too easy. Darius Slay had a blatant missed tackle in the Steelers' secondary, but a few of his teammates also failed to step up on the touchdown.
Aaron Rodgers wasted no time showing the Packers what he can still do at age 41, uncorking a deep ball to a wide-open Roman Wilson down the sidelines while on the move outside the pocket. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the big gain didn't translate to an end-zone trip, with both Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary collapsing the pocket to force a Chris Boswell field goal. Still, that marked a good start from A-Rod, the man of the hour, and if it hadn't been for Packers pressure, he might've also hit Wilson in stride for a score.
From the NBC Sports broadcast: Love still keeps in touch with Rodgers, but "not this week." The two also had no interaction during pregame warmups, meeting for the first time at the coin toss, which resulted in the Packers opening with the ball. Love, however, "wants Rodgers' jersey after the game." Rodgers had a smile for his successor at midfield just before kickoff.
More evidence, besides Rodgers' words, that the former longtime Packers quarterback still cares for Green Bay:
Here's your friendly reminder that Pittsburgh will look a little different in this prime-time clash, debuting new 1933 throwback uniforms that combine various elements from the Steelers' 1930s-1940s getups, including matte yellow helmets and city crests:
Resident historian and Pittsburgh sports analyst Bryan DeArdo offers his forecast:
Green Bay has lost its last six games in Pittsburgh and hasn't won there since 1970, which was ... wait for it ... Terry Bradshaw's rookie season! I've got the Steelers continuing the Packers' winless drought in Pittsburgh as Rodgers becomes the fifth quarterback in history to beat all 32 NFL teams. Pick: Steelers +3; Over 45.5
One of the top reasons Green Bay is favored to win, according to our betting preview: Jordan Love, who replaced Aaron Rodgers as the club's starting signal-caller beginning in 2023, is playing winning football as Matt LaFleur's point guard:
In six starts, he has completed 122 of 176 passes (69.3%) for 1,438 yards and 10 touchdowns with two interceptions and a 108.1 rating. Love has also carried 24 times for 110 yards (4.6 average), including a long of 25. In a 40-40 tie with the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 28, he completed 31 of 43 passes (72.1%) for 337 yards and three touchdowns.
Better yet, in Love's case: The opposing Steelers rank 31st among 32 teams in pass defense.
The big storyline is Rodgers taking on his old team in the Packers. But the former MVP, who spent 18 years with Green Bay, made it very clear this week that he doesn't have any ill will toward the boys in green and yellow:
"I don't have any animosity toward the organization. Obviously I wish that things had been better in our last year there, but I have a great relationship with a lot of people still in that organization. This is not a revenge game for me. ... I grew up there. I spent 18 years there, from [ages] 21 to 39, so I'm thankful for my time there. Obviously [I] would've loved to ride off in the sunset after a Super Bowl win, but that's not the way the league goes sometimes. I knew the writing was on the wall when Jordan [Love] was picked. ... I knew at some point there would be a change, and if I wanted to play, it'd probably have to be elsewhere. So I understand the situation."
