Aaron Rodgers Faces Packers on Sunday Night Football
Unless you really haven’t been paying attention, are living under a rock, or you’re a Bears fan you’re aware that Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.
Rodgers spent 18 years in Green Bay, the final 15 as the Packers starting quarterback and was a four-time Most Valuable Player. Now, he’ll try to become only the fifth quarterback in NFL history to record a win against all 32 teams.
Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning are the only other four to accomplish the rare feat.
What you might not be aware of is when the game kicks off Sunday night, Rodgers will be the sixth quarterback to play against a team he won the MVP for, and the seventh to play against the team where he won a Super Bowl.
Here’s are the others and how they did:
Joe Montana, Kansas City, 1997, beat the 49ers, 24-17.
Kurt Warner, Arizona, 2005, lost to the Rams, 17-12.
Brett Favre, Minnesota, 2009, beat the Packers, 30-23.
Peyton Manning, Denver, 2013, lost to the Colts, 39-33.
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay, 2021, beat the Patriots, 19-17.
Russell Wilson, Denver, 2022, lost to the Seahawks, 17-16.
Wilson is the only one to win the Super Bowl, but not win the MVP.
Since When?
If the Packers can beat Rodgers and the Steelers, Sunday night, they will end a 55-year drought. The last time Green Bay won in Pittsburgh was 1970. Phil Bengston was the Packers head coach and Bart Starr was their quarterback. Pittsburgh’s quarterback was a rookie named Terry Bradshaw, who threw four interceptions in the game.
Caught in the Draft
Seven weeks into the season here’s how the top 10 picks in the NFL draft would play out as of now.
1 Jets; 2. Dolphins; 3. Titans; 4. Saints; 5. Ravens; 6. Browns; 7. Giants; 8. Cardinals; 9. Raiders; 10. Texans.
60/60 Club
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, whose team hosts the Minnesota Vikings, Thursday night, is one win away from his 60th as a NFL head coach. Harbaugh also won 60 games as a NFL quarterback. He will become only the second man to ever join that rare 60/60 club. The first was Norm Van Brocklin.
Bye/Bye
Two somewhat struggling teams coming off their bye weeks have had great success the week after that bye.
Baltimore (1-5), under head coach John Harbaugh is 14-3 the weeks after the bye. The only head coach with a better career record after the bye (minimum 10 games) is Harbaugh’s mentor, Andy Reid. With Philadelphia and Kansas City, Reid is a combined 22-4 after a bye. The Ravens host Chicago, Sunday afternoon.
Buffalo, which has dropped two straight after a 4-0 start to the season, has won their last 10 games the week after the bye. That’s the longest current streak in the league. The Bills are at Carolina, Sunday.
So Much for Openers
In the season opener this season the Las Vegas Raiders beat the New England Patriots, 20-13. Since then the Raiders are 1-5, were shut out, 31-0, by Kansas City last week and reside in last place in the AFC West. The Patriots are 5-1, are playing as well as anyone and are in first place in the AFC East.
No Offense Taken
The winless (0-7) Jets have not scored a touchdown in their last two games — losses to Denver (in London) and Carolina (at home). They have not scored an offensive touchdown in the first half of their last six games.
Change of Course
New Orleans had beaten Tampa Bay seven straight times in the regular season up until head coach Sean Payton retired. As Payton retired, the Bucs hired Todd Bowles as head coach. Tampa Bay is now 6-1 against the Saints.
A Giant Rematch
If it feels as if the Eagles and Giants just played each other, it’s because they did. The two NFC East rivals will play for the second time in 16 days when Philly hosts the Giants, Sunday. In the game from two weeks ago the Giants outscored the Eagles, 14-0 in the second half on the way to a 34-17 rout. They ran for 172 yards and four touchdowns, forced Jalen Hurts’ only interception of the season and went 11-for-16 on third down. The Giants have not swept the Eagles since 2007 and have lost 12 straight games in Philadelphia.
Winning in Indy
The early-season surprise are the Indianapolis Colts at 6-1 and on top of the AFC. This is the first time the Colts have been 6-1 since 2009 when they went to the Super Bowl (and lost to New Orleans). It’s the eighth time in their history they have started 6-1 and they made the playoffs each of the first seven times.
