Aaron Rodgers officially signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And yes, before you ask, he will play the Green Bay Packers in the 2025 season. In fact, Pittsburgh's entire schedule looks something like a personal revenge tour for their new, 41-year-old quarterback.
Rodgers will face the New York Jets in Week 1, an immediate opportunity to avenge his unceremonious departure from the franchise. It just so happens that Pittsburgh also drew the NFC North this season, so Green Bay, Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit are all on the docket — all teams Rodgers has a looooong history with.
Let's dive into the nitty gritty of it all.
When and where do the Steelers play the Packers in 2025?
Pittsburgh will host the Packers at Acrisure Stadium in Week 8, just days before Halloween on Oct. 26, 2025.
So, not only do Steelers fans get Aaron Rodgers vs. Justin Fields in Week 1 — a matchup that's sure to invoke... complicated feelings — but in Week 8, Rodgers will have the strength of the home crowd behind him when he faces Green Bay and his replacement, Jordan Love.
Say what you will about Rodgers, and there's plenty to say, but the spotlight tends to find him. He's never shied away from drama and we can be sure he'll milk this karmically perfect schedule for all it's worth.
Is this Aaron Rodgers’ first game against the Packers?
Yes. Rodgers only appeared in 17 games (and four snaps) as a Jet, none against Green Bay. In fact, he didn't even get a whiff of the NFC North during his tenure with New York, excluding preseason meetings.
Rodgers' breakup with the Packers was pretty messy. He did his best to keep the relationship with Jordan Love cordial, even productive, but Green Bay fans were not thrilled with how that relationship blew up. Clearly Rodgers was not fond of the front office's desire to build out contingency plans for when or if Rodgers began to fall off.
Rodgers vs. Packers: What’s at stake in the 2025 matchup?
What's at stake? Not much in terms of the standings, aside from your standard W-L values. Pittsburgh and Green Bay are in opposite conferences and, frankly, in different stages of their competitive timelines. The Steelers will say they plan to contend with Rodgers at the helm, but Mike Tomlin's bullish commitment to winning nine games every season won't get Pittsburgh far beyond that point. The Packers are on the ascent, the Steelers are on the decline. These are teams crossing paths but going in opposite directions on the linear graph of NFL contenders.
That said... obviously there are a ton of emotional stakes for Rodgers and for both fanbases (but mainly Packers fans). I'm not convinced a single Steelers fan really wants to go through this song and dance for an entire season, but Green Bay has a complicated relationship with Rodgers, one of the all-time greats of that organization. It will be very strange to see him lined up opposite the Green Bay defense in opposing colors.
For Rodgers, we know he wants to win this game badly. He probably wants to outperform Jordan Love if he can. Can he? Well, anything's possible. Last season was a sobering experience for Rodgers, who fell from grace and succumbed to the advances of Father Time. He isn't what he used to be, but he can still throw a few darts on a good week. You know he'll look to bring something extra to this matchup.