It might be his final NFL season as he’ll likely be one and done in Pittsburgh, but Aaron Rodgers can still play at a high level and offers the Steelers quite a bit of hope entering the 2025 season.
With a solid roster around him featuring star receiver DK Metcalf, solid tight end Pat Freiermuth, an emerging offensive line, a strong running game and a star-studded defense, the Steelers should be pretty good overall this season. Of course, a lot hinges on Rodgers’ health and his performance, but if things go as expected, the Steelers will be back in the playoffs once again under head coach Mike Tomlin.
Just making the playoffs won’t be good enough in Rodgers’ final season, though. At least, that’s how FS1’s Emmanuel Acho sees things. During an appearance on “The Facility” Wednesday morning, Acho said it’s championship or bust for Rodgers in after he stated he plans to retire after the season during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday.
“He’s the most talented [QB to ever play]. Success, to me, for him is championship or is 5,000 yards [individually]. That’s it,” Acho said, according to video via FS1. “It is something unheralded. It is 5,000 yards, of which I believe only nine or 10 quarterbacks have done. Surprisingly, even Aaron Rogers hasn’t done it, in large part, ’cause he has always been ahead.
“But Aaron Rodgers has set the bar so high for me that success is not going 10-7. Success isn’t going 9-8. Success is not doing what Kenny Pickett did two years ago going to the playoffs. It’s a championship. It’s doing what Ray Lewis did his last year winning a championship for Baltimore, ’cause that’s the category Aaron Rodgers is in. That is doing what John Elway did his last year and winning [two] championships in Denver, ’cause that’s the category that Aaron Rodgers is in.”
The Steelers are very, very unlikely to win a Super Bowl this season. That’s just reality. Though they should be a competitive team and good enough to win a playoff game, they can’t be expected to be the best team in the AFC and get to the Super Bowl and then win it. They’re not close to that.
As for the 5,000 passing yards for Rodgers, that seems very unrealistic from Acho, too. Only nine NFL quarterbacks have thrown for 5,000 yards in a season, according to Stathead: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Ben Roethlisberger, Jameis Winston, Dan Marino, Matthew Stafford and Justin Herbert.
Of those nine, only Brady was the guy to do it age 40 or older, doing so in his age-44 season.
Age and history are against Rodgers in that respect. So, too, is the style of football the Steelers want to play under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. They’re not going to sling the ball all over the yard, even with Metcalf, Freiermuth, Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson and Robert Woods as pass catchers.
The Steelers want to run the football, utilize play-action, take some shots down the field and shorten games with a great defense. That will limit Rodgers’ passing attempts, though he can still sling it and play good football. Last season alone, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields combined for just 497 passing attempts and 3,255 passing yards.
The average number of passing attempts to reach the 5,000-yard mark of those nine quarterbacks to do so? A whopping 646. Marino in 1984 had the fewest with 564 attempts to reach 5,000 yards. In the modern passing era, Winston with 626 attempts had the fewest.
The Steelers aren’t going to throw the ball 626 times in 2025. So, it seems very unrealistic for Rodgers to do anything that Acho deems a successful season. Of course, it’s all shock-jock stuff from Acho. Yes, Rodgers is an all-time great, but it’s not like he’s peak Rodgers in 2025.
There’s a reason he’s with the Steelers after the Jets cut him loose. Going 10-7 and winning a playoff game for the Steelers will be a success, period. Anything else is icing on the cake.
