Watch Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers face Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens in an AFC North division title decider in Sunday Night Football, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.20am in the early hours of Monday
Aaron Rodgers has often alluded to being on the ‘back nine’ of his NFL career in recent years. There is a sense he could be strolling up the fairway to putt at the 18th this weekend.
The 42-year-old four-time MVP will lead the Pittsburgh Steelers out when they face the Baltimore Ravens with the AFC North title and a playoff spot on the line on Sunday night.
Win or tie, and the Steelers are in. Lose, and their campaign is over, and so too, perhaps Rodgers’ career.
Rodgers, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in June, suggested in the summer he was “pretty sure” 2025 would mark his final season. He has other things on his mind for now.
“I’m thinking about this week, but obviously I’m 42 years old and I’m on a one-year deal,” he said this week. “So you know what the situation is.
“Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. So that’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. I mean, not a lot of options, but there’ll be options, I would think, maybe one or two, if I decide I still want to play.
“I’ve enjoyed this experience, and everybody in Pittsburgh has been fantastic to me on and off the field. And it’s really what I was hoping for this experience was, it’s been even better than I was hoping.”
The Steelers could have punched their ticket to the playoffs last weekend, only to stall on offense in a 13-6 defeat to the Cleveland Browns. Baltimore, meanwhile, kept their season alive with victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field minus the injured Lamar Jackson, who returns to the line-up for Sunday’s decider.
Rodgers will remain without star receiver DK Metcalf amid his suspension, while tight end Darnell Washington is out with a broken arm.
Head coach Mike Tomlin, who recently sealed a 19th successive non-losing season in Pittsburgh, is not ready for Rodgers’ run to end just yet.
“I don’t know that I’ve taken time to ponder that. I’m just committed to making sure that it’s not,” said Tomlin. “He’s certainly been an awesome contributor to our efforts, not only from a talent perspective and an experience perspective, but just his professionalism.
“His relationship with the game, his love for his team-mates, and his willingness to help them grow and get better and gain better understanding each and every day has been cool to be a part of.”
Rodgers signed in Pittsburgh this offseason after two turbulent years with the New York Jets, the former Green Bay Packers quarterback having so far fallen short in his search for a second Super Bowl ring and the Steelers having so far struggled to find a long-term answer under center since the days of Ben Roethlisberger.
With sporadic instalments of Rodgers’ Hall of Fame-bound arm talent has come team inconsistency, leaving them in a make-or-break scenario this weekend.
“Whether Aaron Rodgers has been there or not, Mike Tomlin has still had a winning record. Mike Tomlin has still pretty much gotten them to the playoffs,” said Sky Sports NFL’s Phoebe Schecter.
“And we literally had the same conversation last year. Is that good enough? Is that where the bar is set that, we got you here, but now we don’t make it past the wild-card round or we don’t make it past the divisional round. And I think there’s already conversations around bringing Aaron Rodgers back next year if that’s what he wants to do.
“I do feel like it’s got to be more than that. This team, I love this team because they do have a lot of that traditional old-school mentality. This is how we’re going to do it.
“Obviously they’ve been successful, winning in the NFL every single year is hard and you’re doing it in the same way. I just feel like this team, this franchise deserves more than just good. I think they need to find a long-term answer at quarterback.”
Rodgers enjoyed one of his best days as a Steeler when the two sides met in Week 14, completing 23 of 34 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown to lead Pittsburgh to a 27-22 win. Metcalf starred on the day as he accounted for 148 yards through the air; this time, Rodgers must find another way.
“That first game we were like, ‘he done turned the clock back’,” said Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey.
“He hadn’t been that spot on, but he threw some great passes. He really etched himself into the rivalry well. We have to match that tempo.
“He’s going to come out there and give his guys great opportunities to get the ball and put it in places where it’s very hard to defend.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re guarding, who’s out there, you’ve got to be on your Ps and Qs. Great player, but we would definitely like to have his last memory be a negative one.”
Rodgers enters the game having thrown for 3,028 yards and 23 touchdowns to seven interceptions, seemingly reassuring himself that any decision over his playing future will be decided over his desire as opposed to his ability. Ask his team-mates, and they remain convinced he can still do it at the top level.
“He can play football until he’s 50. He’s almost there,” said wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. “But he can for sure play until he is 50 years old. Throwing the football? He’ll be able to do that.”
