A few things stood out when the 2025 Green Bay Packers schedule was released a couple of weeks ago. Green Bay will play the league’s fifth-hardest schedule, according to last year’s results. They will also play four primetime games, and they’ll open the season at home for the first time since 2018.
After Thursday’s news, a new headline has soared to the top of the list. In Week 8, on Sunday Night Football on NBC, the stage is set for Aaron Rodgers to face his former team as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Earlier this week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver compared his current finals matchup between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder to a Super Bowl between the Packers and Steelers – a battle between small-market teams. The internet collectively rejected his simplification, pointing to the deep history of two of the NFL’s most iconic brands.
Still, if the Packers-Steelers matchup wasn’t exciting enough, it just got more fun … and personal.
Rodgers didn’t have an enjoyable stay in New York, tearing his achilles in his first game and overseeing a second season characterized by dysfunction, poor offense, and losing. Many fans and media around the league have confidently declared his days at the top of the quarterback rankings — or even near the top — over, including the powers in the New York Jets’ building. However, unlike a perennial bottom-feeder like the Jets, the gritty, winning identity that the Steelers have taken on under longtime head coach Mike Tomlin creates some intrigue around Rodgers.
Rodgers will join an offense that has swapped George Pickens for D.K. Metcalf on the outside, and Jaylen Warren and rookie Kaleb Johnson will emerge to lead the backfield. Under Tomlin, Pittsburgh has pulled out physical, low-scoring games to maintain records just above .500, with many playoff berths to accompany that.
However, Pittsburgh’s missing piece has been at the quarterback position. In the years since Ben Roethlisberger was under center, the Steelers have had a carousel of young busts like Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph, and subpar veterans like Russell Wilson. We don’t know if Rodgers will join Wilson in that latter category. Still, his arrival gives Pittsburgh’s offense a sudden burst in potential based on his IQ and experience alone.
Jordan Love was on the other side of Rodgers’ messy breakup with the Packers. We’re in an era of holdouts, trade demands, and leverage afforded to quarterbacks and other stars to complain in the media, directly and indirectly through agents. However, Love patiently waited years for his turn without a complaint.
As a result, Rodgers and Love have a lasting friendship from their time in Green Bay, a much different relationship than Rodgers had with Brett Favre, his predecessor. In two years at the helm, Love has led the Packers to back-to-back playoff appearances and flashed significant potential. His 2025 campaign will be focused on guiding Green Bay’s young team to true championship contention.
Current odds have Week 8’s contest between Love and Rodgers at almost even money. The Packers (-1.5) are slight favorites, but the market has endless information to ingest between now and October 26. Rodgers and the Packers’ organization likely feel short-changed to have won only one Super Bowl in his legendary tenure.
However, the breakup got so messy and out of character for the storied franchise that we have a unique case of a revenge game that goes both ways. Rodgers will want to come out on top by proving to the world that he still has it and doing the one thing he hasn’t accomplished: beating Green Bay. Conversely, the Packers will be dying to fully coronate their next superstar quarterback with a decisive victory that showcases the potential of their rebuilt roster and justifies their initial choice to select Love.
Of course, the saga that unfolded in Green Bay – from the moment the Packers drafted Love to the moment they traded Rodgers – is far too complex for any one result to litigate years later. However, it’s also the NFL media’s favorite thing to do.
Confirm or reject abstract narratives based on a result from a certain part of the bell curve.
The Steelers got the better of Love in his first trip to Pittsburgh, which ended on an interception on Green Bay’s attempt at a game-winning drive. Tomlin’s squad presents a threat on any given Sunday, especially a Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium. Still, Rodgers’ sudden arrival in the contest makes it a fun and personal matchup to circle on the NFL calendar.