As it turns out, Aaron Rodgers is still pretty good, debuting with the Steelers with a franchise record for touchdowns. In tossing four scores on Sunday, he recorded the most touchdowns in a debut in franchise history. But such games are commonplace for him—well, sort of, as they add up over the decades.
With his performance on Sunday, Aaron Rodgers secured his 35th career game with four or more touchdown passes. In doing so, he moved into a tie with Peyton Manning for the third-most such games in NFL history. With 16 more games to play this season, he trails only Tom Brady (39) and Drew Brees (37).
Just in case you’re wondering, Ben Roethlisberger ranks 11th all-time in such games with 16—one behind Patrick Mahomes. But Rodgers and company are miles clear of everybody else. For context, Brett Favre ranks fifth on the list, and he only has 23. These guys are in a class entirely of their own.
Not only did Rodgers throw for four touchdowns, but he did so without an interception. Under those parameters, he is now tied with Brady for the most such games in NFL history with 28. Rodgers boasts the lowest interception rate in NFL history at 1.4 percent, a category in which he has led in six different seasons.
For more history, with his four touchdowns on Sunday, Aaron Rodgers is now one behind Brett Favre for the fourth-most passing touchdowns in NFL history. He is one of only five players to eclipse the 500 mark, and nobody else is even close. Sitting at 507, he is looking up at Favre with 508, but not for long. He has considerable work to do to go much further, though. Manning has 539, while Brees has 571. Tom Brady threw 649 touchdown passes.
Of course, history doesn’t always bode well. Just last year, Russell Wilson set a Steelers debut record for passing yards with 264. Although they started 6-1 with him, the bottom fell out at the end of the season. Rodgers, by the way, recorded the third-most passing yards in a Steelers debut after going 22-for-30 for 244 yards.
But more important than any of this is the fact that Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes. The Steelers have not had any player in any game throw four touchdown passes in years. The last time we witnessed that in a Steelers game was by Ben Roethlisberger in November 2020. On Sunday, Rodgers gave the franchise just the second such game since 2018.
