Aaron Rodgers has been one of the most polarizing figures in the NFL over the last couple of seasons. As such, once he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the takes were all over the place, and he had many doubters.
One of them was Dan Hanzus. The analyst was sick and tired of Rodgers before the season, going as far as to call him an “average-ass bum”. After just six performances from Rodgers in a Steelers uniform, Hanzus is ready to admit he was wrong.
“Aaron Rodgers absolutely rises to the challenge,” Hanzus said Friday on his Heed The Call podcast. “We’re deep enough in the season where, like, I was dead wrong about Rodgers. I think in a healthier situation, in a better situation, he is performing at a really high level… While this is a disappointing loss for Pittsburgh, it’s also a reminder that they’re gonna be okay offensively if they can keep Rodgers upright.”
Thursday wasn’t a completely perfect day for Rodgers. He had a bad interception on an overthrow to DK Metcalf early in the game, and was unlucky to be picked on another ball to Metcalf that was ripped out of his hands. Aside from that, it’s really hard to complain about Rodgers, not just on Thursday, but throughout the whole season.
Aaron Rodgers is currently completing 68.6-percent of his passes and has 1,270 yards on the year. He leads the NFL in touchdown passes with 14, compared to five interceptions. His passer rating of 105.0 is easily the best mark he’s posted since his last MVP season in 2021.
His time in New York stained his career, which was why many expected him to fail in Pittsburgh. But if you paid attention to the end of that season, the roadmap to success was there. As he got more comfortable on his Achilles, he got more comfortable in the pocket and had some of his best games at the end of the 2024 season. That’s carried straight into 2025. Rodgers threw four touchdowns to open the year in New York and did the same against Cincinnati.
He’s actually doing much better than the Steelers hoped. They just wanted him to control the ball and let their run game and defense win games for them. Unfortunately, it’s actually been the opposite. The league’s highest-paid defense struggled mightily Thursday, and it took a special effort from their 41-year-old quarterback to even keep them in the game, making plays like this.
For the Steelers to truly contend for anything, the defense has to get better. But on the bright side, the offense seems to be just fine under Aaron Rodgers’ control. They can run the ball now, and Rodgers is moving well and throwing the ball all over the field. He’s proving plenty of people wrong in the process.
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