Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers entered Week 8 with a chance to join one of the NFL's most exclusive clubs. With a win against his former team, the Green Bay Packers, he would join Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Brett Favre as the only QBs to beat all 32 NFL teams.
A win would also mean a commanding lead in the AFC North race, with losses from the Bengals and Browns giving them a chance to widen the gap.
Instead, the Steelers allowed themselves to get embarrassed at home. The defense completely fell apart after a decent first-half showing, allowing 28 points in the second half. The offense also sputtered, with just three points after halftime before a garbage-time touchdown drive. Thanks to the disappointing loss, Rodgers likely lost any chance of beating his former team.
The Pittsburgh Steelers failed to get Aaron Rodgers into the history books in devastating loss to Packers
Things looked just fine for the Steelers through two quarters, holding a 16-7 halftime lead. Rodgers looked in command of the offense, leading four scoring drives and spreading the ball around to multiple different receivers.
The running game was also putting in work, especially when deploying their jumbo package that has gotten plenty of buzz in recent weeks. It seemed like the struggles of last week were behind them. Unfortunately, there was still another half of a football game to play.
The Packers utterly dominated Pittsburgh on both sides of the ball in the second half, outscoring them 28-9 to secure a 35-25 victory. QB Jordan Love could seemingly do no wrong, completing 20 consecutive passes at one point and finishing with 360 yards and three touchdowns.
The Steelers' offense failed to stay balanced, with just three rushing attempts in the entire second half. Rodgers had to carry the offense on his back, something he couldn't do with the likes of Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary chasing him nearly every play.
It was an ugly reminder of how the Steelers stack up compared to the best teams in the NFL. It had to be painful for Rodgers, who was repeatedly let down by his defenses in Green Bay. He surely hoped that joining head coach Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh would be his chance to play with an elite defense.
Instead, he now has to try and will this team to an AFC North title while dealing with the league's most disappointing defense. Things don't look likely to get better anytime soon, and he now faces the reality that he may never get the chance to beat the team that he became a future Hall of Fame QB playing for.