Pittsburgh Steelers fans had reason to be optimistic about quarterback Aaron Rodgers after his Week 1 performance against the Atlanta Falcons. The 42-year-old veteran narrowly missed on downfield connections that otherwise would have resulted in explosive plays. However, hope came crashing down in Week 2 in a 20-3 loss against the New England Patriots.
Now we might finally have a real reason to believe.
In Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Rodgers was kept clean in the pocket and held onto the football, itching to make plays in the passing game. This led to a 292-yard performance that was accompanied by three touchdown passes. While Rodgers threw one pick, this interception was the fault of Roman Wilson, as the pass bounced off his hands and into the hands of the defender.
For the first time in 10 games dating back to the 2025 season, the Steelers mustered a 30-point performance for a shootout win over their AFC North rivals. It was also only the third time Pittsburgh accomplished this feat in their last 20 games (regular season and postseason). Because of this dominant offensive showing, Pittsburgh currently sits atop the division and holds a tiebreaker over the Bengals.
And this could be more than just a fluke performance from Rodgers and the offense.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans should be optimistic about what Aaron Rodgers and the offense could do moving forward
We can't ignore the dismal performance Rodgers had against the Patriots or the lack of production he's put up through the first three weeks of the season (even with his big game in Week 3). Still, we suddenly have reason to believe that the Steelers could keep the momentum going on offense.
We knew it was going to take time for players to gel with Mike McCarthy's offense, and it feels this team is starting to mesh. Perhaps the biggest factor, however, was the fact that Rodgers was kept upright in the pocket. This gave the aging quarterback added time to hang tough and go through progressions to make plays down the field.
In the Week 3 win against the Bengals, Rodgers had an outstanding 10.8 yards average intended air yards, per NextGenStats. This ranked top five among all quarterbacks in Week 3. Pending Monday Night Football, Rodgers' Week 3 performance also ranked fifth in time to throw (3.19 seconds), sixth in average completed air yards (7.2), sixth in yards (292), and fourth in touchdowns (3).
It's not that Rodgers had an otherworldly performance against the Bengals; it's that everything is starting to come to form. The offensive line played by far its best game of the season, and McCarthy's decision to make the switch to Brock Hoffman and Max Iheanachor is already paying dividends.
It also helped that the Steelers could finally use their running game to open up the passing game. Jaylen Warren exploded for 127 rushing yards on 17 carries (7.5 yards per carry), which forced the Bengals' defense to respect the run as well as the pass.
The Pittsburgh Steelers get another division game this week, this time on the road on Thursday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns—a setting in which they have historically struggled. If the offense can find a way to come out swinging again in Week 4, fans will really have a reason to get excited about Rodgers and the offense.
Add us as a preferred source on Google