Aaron Rodgers' time as the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback has gone about as well as he could have expected. Despite throwing to a shallow group of receivers, the four-time Associated Press NFL MVP and future Pro Football Hall of Famer leads the AFC with 14 touchdown passes. His team paces the AFC North and, barring a slide, will reach the postseason.
Next up for Rodgers and Mike Tomlin's Steelers is the Green Bay Packers, who the 41-year-old passer played for during the first 18 seasons of his career. The clash with Matt LaFleur's crew provides Rodgers the chance to join some elite company, including his Packers predecessor, Brett Favre.
How Aaron Rodgers can join Brett Favre in NFL lore this weekend
Before Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady joined him, Favre became the first signal-caller to beat all 32 NFL teams by downing Rodgers and Green Bay in 2009. Joe Montana and Fran Tarkenton both beat every team in the league, as well, but it only had 28 teams when they retired.
A win would allow Rodgers to cross the final team off his list, which he's been working at for 21 campaigns now. It would also help the Steelers put a disappointing Thursday night loss to the lowly Cincinnati Bengals in the rearview mirror.
Kerry Collins, Ben Roethlisberger and Alex Smith had all come close to accomplishing the all-32 feat, defeating 31 teams, before calling it quits. Other than Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford and Russell Wilson all need wins over only one team to earn membership into the club. However, being that they're the only team he hasn't beaten, Mahomes would have to part ways with the Kansas City Chiefs to do so.
As posted on X by ESPN's Packers reporter, Rob Demovsky, Rodgers plans on walking away from the game in green and gold.
"Feel so good about my time there because damn near everything great in my life is because of my football career, and my football career starts, and will end one day, with Green Bay," Rodgers said on a Zoom call with Packers media on Thursday. "So got a lot of love for all those memories."
Aaron Rodgers isn't out for revenge against the Packers
Rodgers made it clear on Wednesday that he's not out for revenge against the Packers.
"I don't have any animosity toward the organization," he said. "Obviously, I wish that things had been better in our last year there, but I have a great relationship with a lot of people still in that organization, and this is not a revenge game for me. I'm just excited to see some of those guys and be on Sunday Night Football again."
Rodgers is doing his part to help the Steelers prepare to face his former beloved squad. Along with his usual role with Pittsburgh's first-team offense, he took additional reps with the scout team, showing the defense what to expect from his successor, Jordan Love.
“He knows their system, the tempo that they’re going to go at. It’s definitely going to help us out," Steelers safety Juan Thornhill said after Thursday's practice.
Through six games, Rodgers ranks eighth in the league in completion percentage (68.6%) and 10th in passer rating (105.0).