After spending 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers knows a thing or two about their offense.
That should help the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for their Sunday night showdown against the Packers this week in what will be a critical game for both first-place teams. The Steelers are looking to bounce back from their road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week, while Green Bay needs a win to stay in front of the Detroit Lions in the NFC North.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh’s defense, they have a helpful guide in Rodgers, who helped them prepare for the Packers by taking extra reps with the scout team offense during Thursday’s practice.
Green Bay still has the same head coach (Matt LaFleur) and offensive coordinator (Adam Stenavich) as it did during Rodgers’ final season with the Packers in 2022. While their offense has changed a bit since then with Jordan Love now under center, Rodgers still has a good sense of how it operates and was able to mimic that for the defense.
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“He knows their system, the tempo that they’re going to go at. It’s definitely going to help us out,” safety Juan Thornhill told Alan Saunders of Steelers Now after Thursday’s practice. He also said it helps in general to practice against an MVP-caliber quarterback like Rodgers.
“It forces us to communicate a lot faster, more deliberate with us, as well,” Thornhill added. “Just because he knows our defense, he knows the tempo that they’re gonna be going at. It just makes us communicate a little bit better, with the crowd noise, as well.”
Hopefully Rodgers’ efforts pay off for Pittsburgh, which is listed as a three-point home underdog heading into Sunday’s primetime matchup.
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