On Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will face his old team, the Green Bay Packers, in the third game in NFL history in which a quarterback who spent at least 15 years with one team faced that team as the opposing starting quarterback.
Rodgers was the younger quarterback the first time it happened, when Brett Favre, who had played 16 seasons with the Packers, was playing for the Vikings and faced the Packers. They had traded Favre away in order to make Rodgers their new starter.
Favre and the Vikings beat Rodgers and the visiting Packers, 30-23, to make Favre the first NFL quarterback to defeat all of the league's 32 teams.
Tom Brady was the second 15-plus-year vet to play against his old team. Rodgers will be the third. And he, too, can beat his 32nd different opponent with a win Sunday. However, Rodgers said he doesn't have the same thirst for revenge which Favre admitted when he faced his former team back in 2009.
"I don't," Rodgers said. "I don't have any animosity toward the organization. Obviously, I wish that things would've been better in our last year there, but I have a great relationship still with a lot of people in that organization. This is not a revenge game for me. I'm just excited to see some of those guys and be on Sunday Night Football again."
Favre was 36 when the Packers drafted Rodgers in the first round in 2005. Rodgers sat behind the Packers legend for three seasons until Coach Mike McCarthy decided that it was Rodgers' turn to play in 2008.
Rodgers, in turn, was 38 when the Packers drafted Jordan Love in the first round in 2021. Love sat behind Rodgers for two seasons until Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets. Love remains the starting quarterback in Green Bay and will lead the Packers against the Steelers.
"I texted with him last week because they had played a couple common opponents," Rodgers said of Love. "He's a great kid, man. He really is. I enjoyed my time with him. I'm not surprised by how he's playing; he's playing great. His progression was like mine, kind of, where the first year you get your feet wet; second year you feel a little bit more confident. By the time the third year comes around, you're ready to play.
"I had my kind of moment in '07 against Dallas, where I came in when Brett got hurt and played well. (Love) had kind of his moment against Philly in '22. He came in. I got banged up and he looked great. I think that was kind of the message to the organization that this guy is ready to play. I felt like it in '07; he probably felt like it in '22.
"Really happy for him. He's one of the real good guys in the league. I'm sure his leadership is continuing to grow over there. I like the way he's playing. He's super accurate, he's taking care of the football, he's being opportunistic, making great throws down the field, and using his legs as well."
The Packers lead the NFC North with a 4-1-1 record, with Love compiling a passer rating of 108.1. The Steelers lead the AFC North with a 4-2 record, with Rodgers compiling a passer rating of 105.0, proving, as Favre did, that there's plenty of life left in him.
But, unlike Favre, Rodgers harbors no resentment toward his former team.
"We're always working on ourselves and trying to be better than we were the previous day, previous month, previous year," Rodgers said. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder maybe. I have a lot of great memories from my time there, a lot of great interactions with fans over the years. Living in Green Bay, living in Suamico, living in Hobart, going to Chives, being out and about, seeing people at the Piggly Wiggly when I'm shopping for groceries; I grew up there. I spent 18 years there, from 21 to 39, so I'm thankful for my time there. Obviously would have loved to ride off in the sunset after a Super Bowl. That's not the way the league goes sometimes.
"I knew the writing was on the wall when Jordan was picked, and as a matter of time I happened to win MVP the first two years he was with us. But 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. We live and we learn, and I have nothing but love and appreciation for the fan base, for the city of Green Bay, for the city of Suamico and Hobart, where I lived for so many years. I'm excited to see a lot of those people."
Unlike Favre and Brady before him, Rodgers has been a part of two longtime, iconic NFL franchises. But that's not why he came to Pittsburgh last June.
"Mike T(omlin) made it appealing to me," Rodgers said. "But I was around Pittsburgh people my entire football career, starting with Mike McCarthy for 13 years. Mike's from Greenfield, and his love for this city and how he talked about it, and playing with Dom Capers on the staff, and Darren Perry, and Kevin Greene, and Ben McAdoo in my room, and Frank Cignetti, and Luke Getsy, Alex Van Pelt – a lot of people from this area. So I knew a lot about it just from talking to those guys. I knew what a great sports town it is, what a great tradition the Steelers have, and that was definitely a part of it. But, like I said, Mike T was the first reason.
"There's only a few of those kinds of cornerstone franchises in the league. Packers obviously have been around for over 100 years, and Steelers have been around for a long time, got a great history. It's a great sports town. We were at the hockey game last night, saw Sid (Crosby) score a goal. Sid, (Kris) Letang, and Geno (Malkin) have all been on the team, I think, 21 years, which is amazing. I'm in my 21st season, so I know how hard it is to stick around as long as those guys have. There's something special about the connection. (Brett) Keisel's in there as well. I played against Kiesel. That's one of the cool things that Keis and I were talking about last night, how in Green Bay and in Pittsburgh there are iconic players, and they come back around and they live in the city and they call Pittsburgh home full time. There's something special about that. Always said there's something in the water when you look at the great quarterbacks that have come from the area. But it's fun to be a part of this organization and the iconic Packers organization for so long, too."
What does Rodgers see in the Packers on film?
"They're at the top of the league in least amount of explosives in the run game, in the pass game, so we've got to take care of the football," he said. "We've got to block up their rushers, and it's not just Micah (Parsons). Rashan (Gary) is an elite pass-rusher. They've got good guys inside, some younger guys rushing on the outside who can play as well. Their second level, Quay (Walker), I played with him and saw him as a rookie. He's developed and become a really good player in the league. (Edgerrin) Cooper's a really good player in the league as well. He's definitely gotten better. Keisean (Nixon) was our punt returner and kick returner. Love Keisean. What a great dude. And now he's at number one corner and he's been playing really well. They added (Xavier) McKinney on the back end, who had a huge year last year and definitely has been playing great since the day he got there. So you've got to be patient. You can't turn the ball over and we've got to block it up up front."
And how does he feel about the trajectory of the Steelers' offense?
"I feel good," Rodgers said. "I feel like we're moving in the right direction. We've started to figure out what our identity is and we've gotten Spence (Anderson) a lot of opportunities as our sixth lineman on the field. That's kind of given teams some issues running the football. Jaylen (Warren) has been really dynamic. It's kind of been a different guy every week. DK (Metcalf) obviously had a big game against the Vikings, and then Pat (Freiermuth) comes back last week and had a huge game. So it's different guys every week. But Jaylen and Kenny (Gainwell) have been really consistent for us and our line's been blocking really well the last three weeks.
"I'm definitely more comfortable with what I'm doing and I'm more comfortable when I'm staying clean. The only tackle I had the other night was Broderick (Jones), so I'm feeling pretty good."
Jones, of course, tackled Rodgers in celebration following a touchdown pass last Thursday night.
"I texted him," Rodgers said. "I said, 'Hey, man, I love your energy. I love everything you're about. But also, I'm 41 OK? You can't be out there tackling me like that.'
"But I love Brod. We had a couple laughs about it, and I told him I'm getting him next. He better watch his back."
