The Pittsburgh Steelers have Aaron Rodgers under center for the 2025 season, but he’s not the same gunslinger he used to be. Rodgers has one of the best arms this game has ever seen, but doesn’t want to take too many hits at this point in his career. Thus, he likes to get the ball out much quicker than he used to. According to Steelers insider Mark Kaboly, that could lead to an offense predicated on the short passing game.
“It’s a total different passing offense from Russell Wilson, moonball, whatever you wanna call it,” Kaboly said on Thursday’s Kaboly + Mack. “Not gonna see that. It’s gonna be quick throws, catch and run, use the speed of [Calvin] Austin… We’re gonna sit there and look at PFF and say, oh, Aaron Rodgers is worst in the league in air yards. That very well could happen this year.”
“They have that threat of taking it down the field, down the seam. I think it might be just as effective. I’m not saying he [Rodgers] can’t do it, I think they [Steelers] don’t want to do it.”
Last year, the Steelers didn’t have much of a choice with Russell Wilson. He didn’t lack arm strength and was definitely still able to throw the moonball Kaboly refers to. However, he wasn’t nearly as accurate and couldn’t read the middle of the field well. That led to a ton of deep balls down the sideline and checkdowns, with little variation outside of that.
In Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh is getting a big upgrade in terms of accuracy. Rodgers can place the ball on a dime and read the middle of the field much better than Wilson could. That would lead one to believe the Steelers might be more aggressive down the field in 2025, particularly over the middle.
However, Rodgers is old. He can’t take too many hits and has an Achilles injury in his rearview mirror. Last year in New York, he got rid of the ball quickly on a consistent basis. He was 29th of all quarterbacks in 2024 in intended air yards per pass attempt (IAY/PA), at just 6.8.
Already wanting to get the ball out quickly, Rodgers is now playing behind an offensive line with some question marks, especially at left tackle in Broderick Jones. Given that, Kaboly is probably right that the Steelers don’t want him to be attacking down the field all the time. Especially early in the season, as the offense is gaining chemistry, they’ll likely focus on the short game.
Aaron Rodgers will have his chances to attack down the field. However, don’t be surprised if you see a whole lot of short passes to begin the season.
