Aaron Rodgers will take on his former team for the first time when the Steelers host the Packers
Green Bay (4-1-1) at Pittsburgh (4-2)
Sunday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, NBC
BetMGM line: Packers by 3.
Against the spread: Packers 2-4; Steelers 3-3
Series record: Packers lead 20-17.
Last meeting: Steelers beat Packers 23-19 on Nov. 12, 2023.
Last week: Packers beat Cardinals 27-23; Steelers lost to Bengals 33-31.
Packers offense: overall (14), rush (15), pass (12), scoring (7)
Packers defense: overall (6), rush (2), pass (15), scoring (10)
Steelers offense: overall (25), rush (26), pass (19), scoring (11)
Steelers defense: overall (19), rush (17), pass (31), scoring (28)
Turnover differential: Packers even. Steelers plus-5.
Aaron Rodgers' first matchup with the Packers after winning four MVPs and a Super Bowl title in Green Bay naturally will put a spotlight on QB Jordan Love, the guy who was selected in the first round of the 2020 draft to eventually take over for him. After waiting behind Rodgers for three years, Love has led Green Bay to playoff berths in each of his first two seasons as the Packers' starting quarterback. He has completed 69.3% of his passes for 1,438 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions this season.
QB Aaron Rodgers. He spent his first 18 seasons in Green Bay, where he won four MVP awards and led the Packers to their fourth Super Bowl title before making way for current Green Bay starter Jordan Love. The 41-year-old Rodgers is hardly playing like someone in his 21st season in the league. He has 14 touchdown passes through six games, putting him on pace to break Pittsburgh's single-season touchdown pass mark of 34 set by Ben Roethlisberger in 2018.
Steelers LT Broderick Jones against Packers DE Micah Parsons. Jones, in his first season as the full-time left tackle, took a significant step forward in his development a couple of weeks ago when he helped hold Cleveland star Myles Garrett without a sack. The challenge may be even tougher against Parsons, who appears to be finding his groove after being traded to Green Bay from Dallas on the eve of the regular season. Parsons sacked Arizona's Jacoby Brissett three times last week in the Packers' comeback victory.
Packers: DT Devonte Wyatt (knee) and K Brandon McManus (quadriceps) have missed two straight games. DE Lukas Van Ness (foot) didn't play against Arizona. WR Christian Watson is practicing again as he recovers from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but he still hasn't made his season debut. WR Jayden Reed (foot/shoulder) will miss a fifth straight game.
Steelers: WR Calvin Austin III is expected to return after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury. S Miles Killebrew, Pittsburgh's longtime special teams captain, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury suffered in a victory over Cleveland on Oct. 12.
The Packers are seeking to win at Pittsburgh for the first time since a 20-12 triumph way back in 1970. The Packers have lost in each of their past six visits to Pittsburgh (in 1980, 1986, 1998, 2009, 2017 and 2023). Green Bay's road losing streak in this series doesn't include the Packers' 31-25 neutral site Super Bowl victory over the Steelers on Feb. 6, 2011, at Arlington, Texas. Rodgers was Green Bay's quarterback in that game. ... The previous time these two teams meet, Jaylen Warren rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers won 23-19 in Pittsburgh. Love threw for 289 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in that game. ... The Steelers have won three of their past four and six of their past eight overall matchups with the Packers.
The Packers are unbeaten in their past three games and can strengthen their tenuous hold on first place in the NFC North with a victory. The Steelers are atop the AFC North but are smarting after being lit up by Joe Flacco and Cincinnati in a prime-time loss to the Bengals. ... Love has a 121.1 passer rating in Sunday night games. The only quarterback who has a better career Sunday night passer rating with at least 100 pass attempts since 2000 is Drew Brees. ... The Packers are 20-10 against AFC teams during Matt LaFleur’s coaching tenure. The only NFC team with a better record against AFC teams during that stretch is Seattle (21-10). ... The Packers are averaging an NFL-leading 5.82 yards per pass attempt. That represents Green Bay’s highest average through the first six games of a season since 2000. ... The Packers are coming off a six-sack performance at Arizona. ... RB Josh Jacobs has scored two touchdowns in three straight games. He’s the first Packer to have multiple touchdown runs in three straight games within the same season since Jim Taylor did it in 1961. Jacobs has eight touchdown runs this season to rank second in the NFL entering Week 8 to Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor, who has 10. ... Parsons and Packers DE Rashan Gary each have 5 1/2 sacks this season, putting them in a tie for sixth place in the NFL entering Week 8. The only other teammates who each have at least five sacks this season are Denver’s Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. ... According to Next Gen Stats, Parsons has an NFL-leading 41 quarterback pressures entering Week 8. ... Packers CB Keisean Nixon has 10 passes defensed, putting him in a tie for second in the league to Cincinnati’s D.J. Turner (13). ... Packers K Lucas Havrisik kicked the longest field goal in franchise history — a 61-yarder — while filling in for the injured McManus against Arizona. Havrisik is 3 of 3 on field-goal attempts in the two games he has played this season. ... As bad as the Steelers have been in road games on Thursdays, where they have dropped 10 of 11, they’ve been nearly as good at home on Sunday nights. Pittsburgh is 56-20 at home on Sunday nights, and its .757 winning percentage under the lights is best in the NFL since the AFL-NFL merger. ... The Steelers have also been solid the week following a Thursday night appearance. Pittsburgh is 19-10 on nine days' rest, including a pair of home wins against the Packers in 2017 and 2023. ... Pittsburgh will be wearing throwback jerseys meant to evoke the club's inaugural team in 1933. The Steelers will don gold helmets and jerseys replete with black stripes and a patch featuring Pittsburgh's city crest. The Steelers are 24-8 when wearing alternate uniforms since 2007. ... Rodgers can become the fifth quarterback to beat all 32 NFL teams with a victory, joining Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. ... Steelers RB Jaylen Warren is coming off a season-high 127 yards rushing but could find the going more difficult against the NFL's second-ranked run defense. ... Longtime Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward will play in his 218th regular-season game, moving past Hines Ward and into third place on the club's career list behind Ben Roethlisberger (249) and Hall of Fame center Mike Webster (220).
There's a decent chance that Rodgers will borrow a page from his Favre, who had his own “revenge game” against the Packers in 2009 when he was playing for Minnesota. Favre threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns in a Vikings win. Rodgers could very well do the same against a Packers defense that has produced just two interceptions through six games.
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