The Pittsburgh Steelers were handed a surprising upset defeat by the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football in Week 7 to drop their record to 4-3 on the season, but they still are sitting atop the AFC North division for the time being. Now, they have a big Week 8 matchup against Aaron Rodgers’ former team, the Green Bay Packers, on their schedule.
Rodgers turned himself into a surefire Hall of Famer during his 18 seasons with the Packers. Despite having spent two seasons with the New York Jets, this will be the first time Rodgers has ever faced off against Green Bay, and he can make history by becoming the fifth quarterback in NFL history to have defeated all 32 franchises at least once.
It will be interesting to see Rodgers go up against his longtime team because he still has several roots planted with the team. One of those roots is head coach Matt LaFleur, who was in charge for Rodgers’ final three seasons with the Packers. When addressing his team’s matchup with Rodgers, LaFleur made it clear that this game is bigger than simply being Rodgers vs. Green Bay.
“We have a lot of respect and love for Aaron Rodgers,” LaFleur said when speaking to reporters recently. “We had a lot of great moments … It’s about the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Both teams will have a lot on the line heading into this game, but nobody will be more motivated to win this game than Rodgers. Unsurprisingly, this contest has earned a spot on primetime, as it will be played on Sunday Night Football. As a result, kickoff will be scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET at Acrisure Stadium.
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