The Steelers' Aaron Rodgers has odds of 3-1 to reunite with coach Mike McCarthy, a reunion that would see them become the first head coach/QB duo to win a Super Bowl together then start a game for another team.
The Steelers host the Green Bay Packers in their preseason opener tonight, with McCarthy's return to Pittsburgh marking the beginning of his coaching era with the team. Aaron Rodgers, who has sworn this will be his final season before retirement, is not expected to play tonight, but veteran backup Mason Rudolph should start and play one or two series.
Rookie Drew Allar is expected to replace Rudolph for the rest of the first half, while second-year Will Howard will play the entire second half. Green Bay, on the other hand, is expected to play its healthy starters, including QB Jordan Love, a series or two.
McCarthy and Rodgers won a Super Bowl together in 2011, but this would be the first season where they work together for another team. The Steelers have had a Hall of Fame-bound quarterback reunite with a former coach with whom he won an NFL title before – Buddy Parker and Bobby Layne worked together in Detroit from 1951-56 and won two NFL titles.
The Steelers won exactly 10 games each of the past three seasons and reached the playoffs under former coach Mike Tomlin, but they are set at Over/Under 8.5 wins for 2026 and +140 for the playoffs, with No at -168. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Pittsburgh at 8.6 wins and a 40.4% shot at the postseason.
Rodgers has 10 straight playoff appearances without reaching the Super Bowl, the longest streak ever by a starting QB. He finished his first year in Pittsburgh with 3,322 passing yards, and if he matches that production in 2026, he would rank top five all-time in passing yards by a Hall of Fame-bound QB in his final season.
The current record in that scenario is 3,753 by Kurt Warner in 2009 with Arizona, but Tom Brady will top the list with 4,694 yards with Tampa Bay (2022) when he is enshrined in 2028. Rodgers is +10000 to win a record-tying fifth regular-season MVP and is given Over/Under season totals of 3,149.5 passing yards and 21.5 TDs.
Pittsburgh added a good wideout via trade this offseason to help Rodgers, getting Michael Pittman from the Colts for a couple of draft picks. However, Pittman and fellow starting wideout DK Metcalf are both dealing with injuries, so they won't be playing tonight.
The Steelers are looking to win their first playoff game since 2016, with seven straight losses, the fourth-longest such streak in NFL history. Not only that, the Steelers trailed by at least 21 points in all seven games, the longest such streak ever.
Tonight's game will be the first preseason game for both teams, and it will be interesting to see how McCarthy's new team performs.
Source: CBS