There’s a ton of pressure on the Pittsburgh Steelers to make 2025 count. It’s likely the only season with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, so in many ways, it’s Super Bowl or bust.
At first glance, you’d think that scenario lays all of the pressure on Rodgers and Mike Tomlin. While that’s largely the case, it’s not the whole story. The Steelers' offensive line bears more weight on its collective shoulders than it has since Ben Roethlisberger’s final season, and likely more.
Former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga recently spoke about the quarterback he won Super Bowl XLV with on the “Reiter Than You” podcast with Bill Reiter, and while his words were aimed at why Rodgers may not work out in Pittsburgh, they drew a larger picture of what the Steelers offense faces in 2025.
“I went to the Jets-Patriots game last year, and the thing that was sticking out about Aaron that was different was simply, it’s almost this unwillingness — I wouldn’t say unwillingness, because he’s tough — it’s almost like the body is tired and doesn’t want to take the hit,” Poppinga said. “There’s a lot of flinching, there’s a lot of, I would say his vision is going from reading the field to the rush, which isn’t usually normal for high-level quarterbacks. High-level quarterbacks are kind of able to feel the rush and then they’re able to then keep their eyes downfield.”
Rodgers can’t lead a run for Pittsburgh Steelers if the line can’t keep him standing
Rodgers has long been praised for his poise in the pocket. He manipulates defenders and escapes would-be sacks to find open receivers downfield about as well as anyone in the history of the sport. But at 41 years old, he’s not able to do that at the same level. And after 571 career sacks across his career, the most for any quarterback in NFL history, and countless more hits, it makes all the sense in the world.
The former MVP ate 40 of those sacks last year. What may be most concerning is that, even in games where Rodgers suffered two or fewer sacks, the Jets were just 4-5. To a greater point, however, the Jets were 1-7 if he was sacked three or more times. It’s also worth pointing out that Rodgers was sacked 25 of those 40 times while the Jets were trailing.
Some of that is natural in football - you throw more, you get sacked more. If you lead in the game, your quarterback doesn’t throw as much.
For this Rodgers experiment to work, though, he has to be upright regardless of the circumstances. It goes without saying. But that pressure on the offensive line, which is composed of four players with three or fewer years of experience, only ramps up with the obvious statement. If Rodgers is running for his life out there, he won’t be much good to Pittsburgh at all.
The Steelers’ offensive line relinquished 49 sacks in 2024. Granted, some of those were Russell Wilson freezing up, and others were Justin Fields creating his own problems. But certainly, the offensive line must make a tremendous jump in its pass protection efficiency, otherwise Rodgers is going to have a painful and uneventful season in Pittsburgh.