PITTSBURGH -- Aaron Rodgers didn’t need a grand announcement to make his final NFL season feel real. A photo from the Steelers’ win in Paris did the job just fine.
Rodgers was seen with chains around his neck on the flight home, and the image helped put a spotlight on something the rest of the league may have been missing: the Steelers are having fun, and their quarterback is right at the center of it.
This is a team that is winning, getting through injuries, staying together and finding ways to succeed while enjoying the ride. Rodgers, quietly working through what is expected to be his last NFL season, has fit into that atmosphere without turning it into a big performance. If anything, the noise around him is growing because of the way the team and the fanbase are responding.
That kind of energy shows up fast in a locker room. When a team is losing, things can get flat in a hurry.
The conversations are shorter, the mood is heavier and the room feels sealed off. But when a team is winning, it flips.
Players are talking, laughing and moving around with a different kind of bounce.
That’s what the Steelers look like right now. The locker room feels light, and with good reason. They’re 5-2 and battling for the top spot in the AFC North, winning in different ways with different players helping out along the way.
Rodgers, 42, has not treated this as some big farewell production. The Steelers haven’t turned it into one either. This is not shaping up to be the kind of ending where the scoreboard pauses for a tribute and the quarterback walks into a crowd of tears and applause.
Rodgers is not Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, but that doesn’t mean the city isn’t starting to buy in. The more belief he creates, the more it spills over onto the entire team.
There’s always a certain pull to a farewell tour. People remember the ones that felt loaded with meaning - Ray Lewis with the Baltimore Ravens, Peyton Manning with the Denver Broncos, Jerome Bettis with the Steelers. Those runs stick because the team feels different, and because the ending seems to be pointing toward one last perfect moment.
Rodgers may not get that kind of finish. But the possibility matters. Once the farewell tour feels real, the imagination takes over.
With the chains on his neck, sunglasses on his face and a grin from a Steelers legend beside him, Rodgers didn’t just look like a Steeler. He made this final run feel official. How far it goes is still to be determined, but the magic is there now, and in the NFL, that can take you anywhere.
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Steelers Finally Have A Defensive Trend Fans Can Believe In
For a defense that has spent much of the season looking for something stable to build around, Week 7 offered a promising glimpse in the middle of the field. Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen were central to the Steelers' best work against the Saints, with both linebackers showing up against the run and helping keep New Orleans from finding any easy answers through the air.
Wilson was active around the ball all afternoon, stacking up run stops and making a big play that flipped field position. Queen was just as busy, finishing with 10 tackles, a pass breakup and a sack while staying disciplined in coverage, a stretch of play that gave Pittsburgh a clear reason to think this pairing can anchor a more dependable defensive trend going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers 5-2 Start Feels Good Until This Familiar Concern Returns
A 5-2 start is exactly the kind of cushion the Steelers wanted heading toward the bye, especially with a chance to get to 6-2 before the break. The defense under Patrick Graham has done enough to keep the club in position, and the overall vibe around the team is positive enough to make the standings look better than they have in a while.
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Steelers Cant Ignore This Secondary Problem Much Longer
The Steelers defensive front gave them something to feel good about in Paris, where they held the Saints to 10 points and again showed how disruptive their pass rush and line play can be when everything is clicking. But even with that kind of performance, the back end still looks like the area that could keep this defense from fully settling in, especially after the trade that left them without a true boundary corner.
Pittsburgh can survive a lot when the front is winning the fight up front, but the secondary has become the lingering question opponents will keep testing. Cornerback remains the obvious spot to monitor, and while the idea of adding help is already circulating, the Steelers have not done anything yet to suggest the answer is coming quickly. [Read more 🡒]