As if the Broncos’ Black Friday game wasn’t going to be prominent enough, it also could have some historical resonance: In all likelihood, it will mark the last time the Broncos face future Hal of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
When Rodgers opted to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers on on a one-year deal, it set in motion the path to the fifth game involving a Rodgers-led team against the Broncos since he broke into the NFL as a first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2005.
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The infrequency of the matchups, of course, owes to the fact that Rodgers was with the Packers in the NFC for the first 17 seasons of his career. And when the Broncos faced the Packers in 2007, Rodgers was still a backup, watching from the east sideline at what was then known as INVESCO Field at Mile High as Brett Favre led Green Bay to a 19-13 overtime win over Denver on Monday Night Football.
The Broncos are 2-2 all-time against teams guided by Rodgers. So, the Week 12 game could be the all-time tiebreaker — assuming the teams don’t meet in the postseason, or that Rodgers opts to return for a 23rd season in 2027.
But for that, Rodgers will need to fare better than he did last year, when he ranked 22nd in EPA per play and 28th in success rate.
BRONCOS WON THEIR MOST-RECENT GAME AGAINST A RODGERS-LED TEAM
That came in Week 4 of the 2024 season, when Denver eked out a 10-9 win over the New York Jets to move to 2-2 in what would be a 10-7 season that ended in a wild-card loss at Buffalo.
On a rainy afternoon at MetLife Stadium, then-rookie Bo Nix threw his first NFL touchdown pass. But the Broncos’ pass rush defined the day; Justin Strnad sacked Rodgers on the game’s first play, and a key Broncos stop in the fourth quarter happened when P.J. Locke blitzed and brought down Rodgers for a 10-yard loss. The Broncos logged 16 quarterback hits in all during that win.
After absorbing 40 sacks in 2024 with the Jets, he was brought down just 29 times last season while guiding the Steelers to the AFC North crown. Now, he returns with a new running back — Rico Dowdle — and the benefit of Michael Pittman Jr. coming into the fold, acquired in March via trade after the Indianapolis Colts needed to get into cap compliance following the contract extension issued to Alec Pierce.
So, that game will also offer a referendum on which team got the better from its offseason wide-receiver acquisition, especially since Pittsburgh was able to pick up Pittman at the bargain price of a late-round pick swap since the Colts needed to dump his contract, while the Broncos paid a premium price for Jaylen Waddle, a receiver with a different skill set but a similar level of multi-year production.
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It promises to be one of the most fascinating matchups on the schedule. It should be the most difficult game of the Broncos’ five-week post-bye stretch that includes both ends of the home-and-home series with the Las Vegas Raiders, a trip to New York to face the Jets and a home contest against the Miami Dolphins.
And now it gives the Broncos a chance to come out on the plus side against a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer.