Smells Like Teen Spirit was a lot more successful a song than what FOX Sports analyst Jason McIntyre thinks the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers will be. Reacting like the rest of the media world to the news that Aaron Rodgers is set to join the Steelers, flying into the city Friday to sign, McIntyre doesn’t see the situation ending well.
“He ain’t better than Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow, that’s for sure,” McIntyre said of Rodgers on FS1’s The Herd Friday while filling in for Colin Cowherd. “So at best you’ve got the third-best quarterback. Pro Football Focus had Pittsburgh 21st best roster in the league. That’s not great. I dunno, this smells to me like 7-10. Pittsburgh and Aaron Rodgers feels like it’s over.”
McIntyre is the latest analyst to place Rodgers as the AFC North’s third-best quarterback behind Jackson and Burrow. A reasonable and fair take given that Jackson is a multi-time MVP and Burrow a franchise quarterback in the prime of his career. Pittsburgh’s goal isn’t to have stronger quarterback play than either of those teams but to close the gap. In theory, Rodgers coupled with a strong-enough roster and the Steelers’ strong divisional track record is enough to compete. Pittsburgh has the NFL’s longest streak finishing .500 or better inside the division.
While the Steelers are not rated highly by PFF, their bet is a young roster will improve throughout the season. An offensive line young and largely unproven is also teeming with potential. If it can reach its ceiling, the offense could have its best season in years. Defensively, they figure to be a top-10 unit with a stout front seven and competent secondary. The Steelers consistently rank near the top of the NFL in takeaways, tying for the league-lead in 2024, and invested in the defensive line to beef up a run defense that wilted at the end of last season.
McIntyre believes one of the Steelers’ 10 losses will come in the season opener against Rodgers former team, the New York Jets.
“You don’t think those Jets are gonna be motivated to go after Rodgers the way that tenure went in New York?” he said. “Folks, it’s not gonna be pretty for Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh.”
The Jets and Steelers swapped quarterbacks this offseason. Justin Fields signed a two-year deal with New York while Rodgers will play on a one-year contract, worth roughly $10 million with incentives, with Pittsburgh. It makes for a marquee matchup to open the year and could set the tone for each franchise’s season.
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