Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers fall
short in QB's reunion with Packers as Love leads 35-25 win
[October 27, 2025]
By WILL GRAVES
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jordan Love spent three years absorbing what he
could from Aaron Rodgers. Footwork. Cadence. Throwing motion. Film
study. The list of things Love gleaned from his mentor goes on and
on, every last item invaluable in Love's development.
And seemingly every last one of them was on display Sunday night,
when the Green Bay quarterback of the present and future outdueled
the Green Bay quarterback of the past and served notice he's ready
to start writing a legend of his own.
Looking every bit as good as Rodgers in his prime, Love passed for
360 yards and three touchdowns as Green Bay raced past Rodgers and
the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-25 in what in many ways felt and looked
like an official passing of the torch.
Yes, Love knew there would be considerable hype around Rodgers'
first-ever game against the Packers since being nudged aside for
Love in early 2023. While Love admitted there was a little more
pressure this week than usual, he hardly looked bothered while
completing 29 of 35, including a franchise record-tying 20 straight
spanning the end of the first half and the vast majority of the
second.
“My mindset was just trying to come out here and focus on getting
that win, trying to block all that extra stuff out and just be the
player I need to be," Love said.
That player looks plenty good enough to keep Green Bay (5-1-1) in
contention in a wide-open NFC.
“He showed why he's the (successor),” Packers defensive end Micah
Parsons said. “I mean, he’s the up-and-coming. Like Jay Love, when I
talking about when I was coming here, I was like, ‘I know they got a
quarterback.’”
Yes they do.
“He was on fire,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said. “That’s why we
kept wanting to throw the football.”
That and the fact the Steelers (4-3) had trouble stopping it. Green
Bay piled up 454 yards of total offense and after a promising first
half, the 41-year-old Rodgers and the rest of Pittsburgh's offense
couldn't keep pace.
Rodgers, who won four MVPs and a Super Bowl in 18 seasons with the
Packers before being traded to the Jets in the spring of 2023,
completed 24 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two scores but couldn't
deliver the kind of magic that he has summoned on occasion in his
21st year.
“Disappointed I didn’t play better (and) that we didn’t play better,
especially in the second half," Rodgers said.
Given the way Love was slinging it, it might have been Rodgers to
keep pace even while at his best. Love completed his last four
passes of the first half and his first 16 of the second, two of them
for scores, as the Packers erased a nine-point deficit to win at
Pittsburgh for the first time since 1970.
“It’s great for Jordan,” LaFleur said. “Jordan’s worked his (butt)
off to get here. He was patient throughout the process, throughout
the journey, and he took advantage of the opportunity, he really
did.”
Tight end Tucker Kraft caught seven passes for a career-high 143
yards and two touchdowns. Christian Watson added four receptions for
85 yards in his return from a torn ACL he suffered in the 2024
regular-season finale.
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Green Bay Packers' Rashan Gary sacks Pittsburgh Steelers' Aaron
Rodgers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct.
26, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Josh Jacobs ran for just 33 yards, but his 3-yard
scoring sprint on the first play of the fourth quarter put the
Packers up for good as Pittsburgh's defense stumbled yet again, nine
days after being carved up by Joe Flacco in a loss at Cincinnati.
Wearing throwback jerseys honoring Pittsburgh's inaugural team in
1933 — when the club was known as the Pirates — the Steelers turned
back the clock in a way that felt less like nostalgia and more like
“here we go again.”
Given an opportunity to strengthen its hold on the underwhelming AFC
North, Pittsburgh instead saw the NFL's highest-paid defense
struggle to keep Love and the Packers in check. The Steelers were
pushed around repeatedly over the final 30 minutes as the Packers
firmly grabbed control.
“We've just got to be better in all areas and it starts first with
the positions that we put players in and so as coaches, as players,
as all of us, we own it,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’ll be
better. We have to be.”
Rodgers said repeatedly that he wasn't looking for revenge against
his old team, and he plans to one day retire in the town where he
cemented his status as a future Hall of Famer.
By the end, Rodgers found himself in familiar territory: hearing the
fans chant “Go Pack Go! Go Pack Go!” after another Packers victory.
It was the first time in 21 years Rodgers found himself on the other
side of it.
“I’ve heard that chant for 18 years, so Packer fans travel really
well,” he said. “First time in a while I’ve used silent count for a
home game. That’s a credit to most Packer fans.”
Injuries
Packers: Linebacker Nick Niemann left in the second half with a
chest injury.
Steelers: Defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale left with a knee injury in
the second quarter. Safety DeShon Elliott exited in the third
quarter with a potentially serious right knee injury. Left guard
Isaac Seumalo went down with a chest injury and didn't return.
Up next
Packers: Host Carolina on Sunday.
Steelers: Host Indianapolis on Sunday.
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