It would have made for a more dramatic scene if it happened at Lambeau Field, but nevertheless, plenty of folks in Packer jerseys showed up to the stadium on the North Shore in Pittsburgh to watch Aaron Rodgers—suiting up for the team he beat in Super Bowl XLV—take on the Green Bay Packers for the first time in his career. What they saw, though, was a game in which Rodgers had a fairly minimal impact, as his old franchise looked by far like the more complete team in their 35-25 win that dropped the Steelers to 4-3.
The first half on Sunday night, more than Jordan Love taking on the man whose job he took, turned out to be about the field goal kickers. Brandon McManus missed a pair of attempts for Green Bay, while Chris Boswell knocked in three from an average distance of 51 yards away. The Pack went into the locker room down 16-7, but they dominated the rest of the proceedings, eventually building a two-score lead that held for the fourth quarter’s final 10 minutes.
The breakout star on this night was Tucker Kraft, the third-year tight end who set a new career high with 143 yards—almost all of which came after the catch. At a listed 6-foot-5, 259 pounds, the South Dakota hoss is never going to be the quickest guy out on the field, but he could get that speedometer up when Love found him with open space, and he also proved to be an agent of chaos whenever a would-be tackler tried to get near him. Watching this oak tree with limbs march to Dunsinane had to be demoralizing for the Steelers defense, who seemingly had to wait for Kraft to tire himself out before they were able to get him down.
Green Bay QB Jordan Love, whatever his feelings about his old teammate, absolutely showed up Rodgers on this night. Despite the presence of T.J. Watt on the Steelers defense, Love looked nothing but comfortable, avoiding any turnovers or sacks as he passed for 360 yards and three scores. Throwing only eight incompletions, at one point Love connected on 20 passes in a row—something Rodgers himself never did as a Packer. And after Joe Flacco torched the Steelers’ D 10 days prior, this second straight loss gave the Pittsburgh squad a whole bunch of things to worry about even as they stay at the top of an ugly-looking AFC North.
Rodgers, for this part, put up a stat line that looks fine at a glance but was very much padded by a final drive that turned out to be pointless. At 41 years old, coming off that darkness retreat with the Jets, the QB has done enough this season to show that he still has a starter-worthy arm. But this was a match-up that demanded comparisons with how he used to perform as a Packer, and those old fans surely remember the playmaking magic that allowed him to escape, improvise, and torment the opposition with impossible highlights. This aged veteran Rodgers, however, is not much of a runner at all, and when faced with pressure by the Green Bay attack, he could look downright feeble as he meekly accepted his fate.
A win like this is a big declaration for Green Bay, who hold the best record in the NFC at 5-1-1, and now their minds are on bigger games ahead. It maybe seemed a tad inconvenient, this appointment with Rodgers, but now that their bodies have been exposed to this weakened, harmless version of an MVP quarterback, they should have all the preparation they need when they’re forced to deal with an actually dangerous opponent. As for Rodgers, he’s still doing what he does best: piling up grievances to be aired on Pat McAfee’s show at a later day.
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