The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to break a near-decade streak of playoff futility in 2025. The last time they won a playoff game was in 2016. And they brought in 41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers to help make that happen.
The Steelers are hoping that Rodgers can win in the playoffs after the age of 40, something few quarterbacks have done. Rodgers turns 42 in December. How crazy would it be for him to be under center in the playoffs and win a game?
And can it happen?
“I think it would be one of the great over-40 achievements in any sport if this team goes like 10-7 and he’s actually pretty good,” Bill Simmons said Thursday on the Bill Simmons Podcast. “I don’t see it, though.”
It would be a stunner, wouldn’t it? An NFL quarterback winning 10+ games (and hopefully a playoff game, as well) while over the age of 40. It’s not unheard of, though. The greatest example in recent history would be former NFL QB Tom Brady. He won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 at the ripe old age of 43. The Buccaneers averaged just over 30 points per game, the third-best number in the league.
So, if Tom Brady could do it (at an even older age, no less), why can’t Aaron Rodgers? Well, Simmons points to the Steelers’ supporting cast around Rodgers. He questioned the offensive line and the weapons. Yes, the Steelers have WR DK Metcalf, but it’s understandable to question the group behind him. Check The Mic’s Steve Palazzolo did the same, even if he likes the tight end room.
After all, Brady had wide receivers like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in 2020, along with his favorite tight end, Rob Gronkowski. Heck, he even had former Steelers WR Antonio Brown and current Steelers WR Scotty Miller. It certainly helps your older quarterback if you surround him with high-level talent.
Meanwhile, the Steelers are heavily banking on WR Roman Wilson (and Calvin Austin III) to step up at WR2. If he does, that’s fantastic. But Wilson only played five snaps in his rookie season. It’s quite the projection for him to step up as a true NFL-level WR2. The Steelers will certainly be relying heavily on their tight ends this year, especially Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith.
But even though Simmons doesn’t think the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers will succeed this season, he does see an avenue for it. And it has absolutely nothing to do with Rodgers.
“The only case you could make for them to get to nine wins is the defense,” Simmons said. “If the defense is really good again, which I have a feeling is going to take a little bit of a step back as it’s older.”
The Steelers undoubtedly added talent to that defense in the offseason. They added cornerbacks Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey, both of whom are upgrades, talent-wise. But both of them are 30-plus years old. OLB T.J. Watt is another year older. Same with DT Cam Heyward.
Obviously, you can point to rookie draft picks on the defensive line in Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black as examples of them getting younger and more talented as well. But they’re not proven NFL talent. The Steelers are banking on some big questions being answered in their favor this year. Namely, Aaron Rodgers plays better than almost anyone ever at the age of 41, someone steps up at wide receiver, and the older members of the defense don’t drop off.
But Simmons expects that those questions won’t go in the Steelers’ favor. He’s taking the under-8.5 wins on the season, meaning he expects 2025 to be the first losing season under head coach Mike Tomlin. And with all the work that Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan have attempted to do this offseason, that would be a major disappointment. No doubt, Aaron Rodgers would be disappointed, too.
