The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
DAN MELCHIOR FROM SAN DIEGO, CA: If the job is to entertain us, the Steelers certainly have done that so far this year. Where does this game rank for you in the annals of the Steelers-Ravens rivalry?
ANSWER: In terms of drama and significance, the 2025 regular season finale ranks up there with the 2016 Christmas Day Game in Pittsburgh, when Ben Roethlisberger threw to Antonio Brown who got the ball across the goal line with an effort that came to be known as the Immaculate Extension with 9 seconds left for the decisive points in a 31-27 victory that sent the Steelers to the playoffs while simultaneously eliminating the Ravens from the postseason. And while the Acrisure Stadium crowd was buzzing throughout Sunday night's game and exploded appropriately when Tyler Loop missed that 44-yard field goal as time expired, it doesn't come close to the din that accompanied Troy Polamalu's pick-6 to clinch the 2008 AFC Championship Game and send the Steelers to Super Bowl XLIII.
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SCOTT RANDALL FROM CONWAY, SC: The Steelers are expected to have a lot of draft picks to use during the 2026 NFL Draft, and with that being said can you see the team going after a WR first if there isn't a QB who attracts their attention in the first round? If Aaron Rodgers wants to play another year do you think the team will sign him?
ANSWER: I understand the excitement coursing through the fan base after the win over the Ravens and the clinching of the AFC North, but it's way too premature to talk about a plan for the upcoming draft and the possibility of the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers running back their business relationship for another season. I suggest you just enjoy the Steelers opening these playoffs by hosting a Wild Card Round Game and leave that other stuff for when this season actually is over.
SHAWN BITTNER FROM JACKSONVILLE, NC: The Steelers will host the Texans in a Wild Card Round Game scheduled for Monday night, Jan. 12. Am I wrong in remembering in years past that Monday night games ended in Week 17 ( or in Week 15 when the schedule was 16 games)? I see this as a disadvantage to the winner of Steelers-Texans when it comes to the Divisional Round Games, which are the following Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17-18. To schedule Monday games in the playoffs seems like another choice of revenue over competition.
ANSWER: I don't know about you, but that ship sailed for me when the Steelers were assigned 3 games in 11 days last December in order to be scheduled for the Christmas Day package when Dec. 25 fell on a Wednesday. This is the NFL nowadays. Networks and streaming services will pay top dollar for the rights to NFL games because those games generate big revenue via ratings and ad rates, and that revenue is added to the pie and divided among the players and owners to continue driving up the salary cap. The NFL scheduling games on non-traditional days of the week has become part of the current business model.
JASON PRASTER FROM SAN ANTONIO, TX: At what point in a player's college career does he start attracting attention from the Steelers scouting department? If they have interest in a particular player, are they studying that player early on or do they primarily focus on draft eligible players only on a yearly basis?
ANSWER: The in-depth vetting and studying of college players by NFL teams doesn't happen until the player is at least 3 years removed from his high school graduation. Teams really have their hands full just with the guys who are in their draft eligible window to be allotting time to guys who aren't at least 3 years out of high school.
BRAD HIMES FROM MUNCIE, IN: I think Aaron Rodgers should be a strong candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year Award. He has at times overachieved with an uneven offense, particularly at his age.
ANSWER: After Joe Flacco was voted Comeback Player of the Year a few years back now, the criteria for winning the award was changed. According to Associated Press senior NFL writer Rob Maaddi, who oversees All-Pro and NFL awards voting, "the spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season." It was in 2023 when Aaron Rodgers missed all but one game with an Achilles injury, and so based on the adjusted criteria it would have been 2024 when he was a candidate for the award. But he played all 17 regular season games that season.
STEFAN PISOCKI FROM WILMINGTON, DE: Congratulations to Kenneth Gainwell for being voted Steelers MVP by his teammates. It seems that it has been a while since the award has been given to a running back, no?
ANSWER: The Steelers MVP Award first was given in 1969, and since then Kenneth Gainwell is the sixth different running back to win it. The others were Franco Harris in 1972; Barry Foster in 1992; Jerome Bettis in 1996, 1997, and 2000; Willie Parker in 2006; and Le'Veon Bell in 2014 and 2016.
NORM COURY FROM LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS: How would you explain that No. 75 was voted Steelers MVP only once? Ron Shanklin and Glen Edwards were very fine players of course, but it was Joe Greene?
ANSWER: The Steelers MVP is awarded each season based on a vote of his teammates, and there is no way of predicting how 45-53 players are going to vote. There could be many individual definitions about what "most valuable" means to people. Or more simply, I have no explanation, for example, why Le'Veon Bell was a two-time winner and Antonio Brown was a four-time winner but Joe Greene won just once.
DAVID BOGNAR FROM GERMANTOWN, WI: If I had been given the choice between the Steelers beating the Browns and then playing a meaningless game against the Ravens, or playing the Ravens in an exciting winner-take-all last game of the regular season in front of a national audience and winning it the way they did, it would be a no-brainer. I've been a Steelers fan for 50 years, and it's been a while since I've felt this excitement. Congratulations to the Steelers and Mike Tomlin. I wish them good luck and all the best in the playoffs.
ANSWER: It's always exciting to be in the playoffs, and being able to play those games at home adds to the excitement.
