The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a tough game to the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday night. But it certainly wasn’t the offense’s fault. The Steelers’ run game was the best it’s been all season with 147 yards. And QB Aaron Rodgers posted his second four-touchdown game of the season.
Former NFL QB J.T. O’Sullivan called it “vintage Rodgers.” And it certainly looked like Aaron Rodgers had turned back the clock, despite pushing 42 years old. Check The Mic’s Sam Monson came away impressed, especially with how well Rodgers moved in the pocket.
“Rodgers looked really good, made a bunch of really big plays,” Monson said Monday on Check The Mic. “Just made a bunch of plays like you’re talking about, where he moved in the pocket, slid one direction or the other. Either reset the leverage of his offensive lineman or simply avoided the pressure that he was surrendering in the first place. He did it two or three times in the game where Broderick Jones gave up inside pressure and Aaron Rodgers just skips outside and he’s fixed Broderick Jones, right?
“Jones goes inside with the guy, just about stays engaged, and Rodgers is able to slide back to the point where Jones is able to continue the block on the inside. He did that a bunch.”
One of the clear examples of this was Rodgers’ second touchdown throw to TE Pat Freiermuth. The Bengals brought pressure, and Jones had to carry his rusher inside. Rodgers slid to his left to escape the pressure, kept his eyes downfield, and found Freiermuth.
AARON RODGERS YOU’RE KIDDING.
68-YARD TD TO FREIERMUTH FOR THE LEAD.
PITvsCIN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/G657L0t6MG— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025
Going into the season, plenty of people questioned whether Aaron Rodgers could still move. He’s 41 years old, and he tore his Achilles’ only two years ago. No wonder people expected Rodgers to be a statue, not flash the MVP-level athleticism he showed in Green Bay. But on Thursday night, we saw Aaron Rodgers manipulate the pocket to avoid pressure. And it wasn’t just to avoid getting sacked by giving him time to throw the ball away.
No, Aaron Rodgers moved in the pocket to create big plays for the Steelers’ offense. That’s cause for optimism for a lot of people in Pittsburgh, including our own Matthew Marczi. And the Steelers will need a lot more of that as they head into a difficult stretch of games.
