When things are slow in the NFL, people love to turn to predictions. And two-time Super Bowl winner and former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is no different. However, when he broke down the Steelers’ upcoming schedule on Tuesday’s episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, he provided two predictions: One for the team with QB Aaron Rodgers and one without.
And that’s a big part of why making predictions at this point in the year is so challenging, especially for the Steelers. Players can emerge during training camp. Players can suffer season-ending injuries (hopefully none for any team out there). And we still don’t know for sure whether Rodgers will be with the Steelers this season.
Now, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, the Steelers aren’t concerned about when Rodgers shows up. Roethlisberger and others have spoken about how they believe he should get into town as soon as possible to build relationships with teammates and coaches. But regardless, Roethlisberger predicted that the Steelers will go 11-6 with Aaron Rodgers. He also predicted that if Rodgers doesn’t come to Pittsburgh, head coach Mike Tomlin will have his first losing season at 7-10.
“It’s called three letters: H-O-F,” said Roethlisberger. “That’s what that’ll get you. It’ll get you, that’ll get you a few more wins.”
The question is, can Aaron Rodgers make that big of a difference at this stage in his career? He hasn’t had a successful season, team performance-wise, in his last two full seasons. Could he rebound in Pittsburgh in 2025? Perhaps. But FOX Sports’ Chris Broussard thinks that the Steelers will have a losing season even with Rodgers under center. And that’s because both the Green Bay Packers and the New York Jets had losing seasons with him.
But Roethlisberger has faith that Aaron Rodgers can make a four-game difference for the Steelers. And things should be much more stable in Pittsburgh than in New York last year. There’s no way Tomlin gets fired mid-season unless something catastrophic happens off the field.
So, where exactly does Big Ben envision Rodgers making a key difference? When the Steelers visit the New England Patriots in Week 3, when they host the Packers for Sunday Night Football in Week 8, host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11, and visit the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.
“I know the Patriots had a really down year,” Roethlisberger said about the Week 3 matchup. “They have [Mike] Vrabel, new coach. I think they play for him. Drake Maye, I do like Drake. I think he’s a year improved… I think with Aaron, it’s a win. Without, it’s a loss.”
Former Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is a little more confident than Roethlisberger, though. He’s fully confident that the Patriots will continue to have the Steelers’ number and beat the Steelers in Foxboro.
Roethlisberger also shed some light on his split decision on the road game in Cleveland.
“Never easy to go there late in the year,” Roethlisberger said. “The 28th of December, it’s gonna be terrible weather, which always throws a little bit of a wrinkle in it. I hate to say this. With Aaron, I’m gonna take a win. I’m actually gonna go loss, I think really, without Aaron. I just feel like there’s always that in-Cleveland factor.”
We unfortunately saw that last year when the Steelers visited the Browns in what turned into a snow globe. Former Browns QB Jameis Winston said it was his “first snow game ever,” and he helped his team get the better of Pittsburgh with a late touchdown drive for a 24-19 win.
Other notable results? Roethlisberger expects the Steelers to lose to the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland, regardless of whether Rodgers is with the Steelers. He also expects that the trip to the West Coast to take on former Steelers RB Najee Harris and the Los Angeles Chargers will also end in a loss.
