One day in the not so distant future both Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin will be headed to Canton. For now the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and head coach are headed in another direction — winning the AFC North.
Pittsburgh’s upset of Baltimore Sunday moved the Steelers back atop the division and set up an interesting final month of the season. Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP, will try to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. And Tomlin will try to continue his amazing streak of never having a losing record.
Sitting at 7-6, the Steelers finish with a Monday night home game against Miami, travel to Detroit and Cleveland and then host Baltimore in what could be a winner-take-all scenario.
In Sunday’s win over the Ravens the 42-year-old Rodgers, one of six active QBs to win a Super Bowl, completed 23 of 34 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a touchdown for the first time since 2022.
“We knew what was on the line today and that’s why you go do business with a guy like Aaron,” Tomlin, one of seven active Super Bowl winning coaches, said in his postgame press conference. “For thick days like today. He’s a been-there done-that guy. Beyond the experience component of it, he relishes it. You can just tell. That’s the benefit of having a guy like AR.”
Rodgers and the Steelers got off to a quick start this season. They were 4-1 before they lost three of their next four, including Rodgers’ game against the Packers. They were desperate heading into Baltimore, who had gone from 1-5 to 6-6, and came away with the win.
Now they have a legitimate shot at winning the division, keeping Tomlin’s streak alive and sending Rodgers back to the playoffs.
Is it Over?
Speaking of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks and coaches, things are not looking bright in Kansas City for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.
Sunday night’s loss to Houston dropped the three-time defending AFC champs to 6-7 on the season. Mahomes, who was 14-for-33 for 160 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions for a 19.8 QB rating, had the worst game of his career.
Over his past five games, Mahomes has been under 50 percent completion percentage twice. Before that he had played 149 games in college and the pros and was never under 50 percent.
And the last time the Chiefs were under .500 after 13 games? That would be 2012 when Andy Reid was in his final season in Philadelphia.
Deja Boo
Just two years ago the Eagles started the season 10-1 only to finish 11-6 and get blown out in the first round of the playoffs by Tampa Bay.
This season the Eagles started the season 8-2 and after Monday’s ugly loss to the Chargers are 8-5. Is history repeating like a bad burrito?
Three of the Eagles final four games are against the worst team in the league, Las Vegas, and two against a really bad Washington team.
Lose any of those games and everyone in the organization should be in trouble.
Never Lose Twice
Detroit’s win over Dallas last week kept alive a pretty impressive streak for the Lions. They have now won 15 straight games after a loss.
That ties for the longest streak of not losing two straight with the Baltimore Ravens (2009-12) and Denver Broncos (1984-88).
No Luck for Colts
Not only is Indianapolis falling apart, the Colts lost QB Daniel Jones for the season with a torn Achilles.
Indy’s loss Sunday in Jacksonville was the 11th straight time they lost to the Jaguars in Florida. The last time the Colts won in Jacksonville was 2014 when Andrew Luck quarterbacked the Colts over Blake Bortles and the Jags.
Shut Out? Shut Up
Minnesota lost to Seattle, 26-0, two weeks ago and then came back and beat Washington, 31-0.
Guess that means Seattle would beat Washington, 57-0.
Seriously, that’s the first time since weeks three and four of 1992 that a team was shut out one week and then recorded a shutout the following week. Denver lost to Philadelphia, 30-0, and then beat Cleveland, 12-0, the next week.
Battle in the South
With a month to go, Tampa Bay and Carolina are tied for first place in the NFC South at 7-6. The crazy part is the two teams have not played each other yet.
They will meet twice over this final month, next week in Charlotte and then the final week of the season in Tampa. The Panthers also play at New Orleans and host Seattle. While the Bucs host Atlanta, Thursday night, and travel across the state to Miami.
Just another 1
Green Bay faced Chicago, who was the No. 1 seed in the NFC, last week and beat them, 28-21.
This week the Packers face the Broncos, who happen to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Who knows what will happen, but Vegas has installed the Pack as a 2 1/2-point road favorite.
It’s Official
When Miami beat the New York Jets, Sunday, it eliminated the Jets from the playoffs. Shocking, right?
It will be the 15th straight year the Jets miss the playoffs, which is the longest streak of any team in the four major sports.
Playoff Picture
Here’s how it currently breaks down.
NFC: Rams, Packers, Eagles, Bucs, Seahawks, 49ers, Bears.
AFC: Broncos, Patriots, Jaguars, Steelers, Chargers, Bills, Texans.
