Aaron Rodgers joins list of elite passers to face his former NFL team when Steelers play Packers

Aaron Rodgers already has ruled out revenge as an incentive when he faces his former team, the Green Bay Packers, on Sunday night as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He’s not even nostalgic about the matchup, noting it would be memorable if the venue were Lambeau Field instead of Acrisure Stadium.

Still, no matter how much Rodgers downplays the significance of his first game against Green Bay, the NFL was smart enough to schedule it for the prime-time showcase. And that decision happened weeks before Rodgers officially joined the Steelers.

Rodgers can become the fifth passer in NFL history to defeat all 32 teams, with a win placing him alongside two Hall of Fame quarterbacks — Peyton Manning and Brett Favre — and two destined to receive gold jackets when they are eligible: Tom Brady and Drew Brees.

It is fitting that this matchup will take place a week before Halloween. Manning, Favre, Brady and Brees faced their former teams for the first time during October.

Here is a look at how those four — plus another all-time great quarterback — fared in those matchups:

Tom Brady

On Oct. 3, 2021, a year after leading Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl title in his first season with the organization, Brady returned to Gillette Stadium with the Bucs. He engineered a 19-17 victory in his first and only game against the New England Patriots.

Brady didn’t have a strong performance, barely completing 50% of his passes by going 22 of 43 for 269 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass or interception.

Ryan Succop’s 48-yard field goal with 1:57 left gave the Bucs a two-point lead. Brady and the Bucs, though, had to sweat out a 56-yard miss by Nick Folk with less than a minute remaining before they could celebrate the win.

Peyton Manning

Revenge at first wasn’t so sweet for Manning when he faced the Colts as the Denver Broncos quarterback in 2013. He would have to wait one more season before beating his former team for the only time in three meetings.

On Oct. 20, 2013, Manning and the Broncos came up short in a 39-33 decision in the quarterback’s return to Lucas Oil Stadium. He completed 29 of 49 attempts for 386 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Manning helped guide the Broncos to a 14-10 lead before the Colts, behind Andrew Luck, scored 23 unanswered points. Manning was sacked four times and fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a safety.

Manning eventually defeated his former team in the 2014 season opener.

Brett Favre

Favre already had spent a year with the New York Jets after his exit from Green Bay. On Oct. 5, 2009, he was in his first year with the Minnesota Vikings when he faced the Packers for the first time as an opposing quarterback.

Cast aside so the Packers could make way for Rodgers, Favre outplayed his protege. Favre completed 24 of 31 passes for 271 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 30-23 victory. Rodgers had 384 yards passing and threw for two touchdowns against one interception.

Favre fared even better in the second matchup later that season. In his return to Lambeau Field, Favre threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-26 victory.

Rodgers would get the better of Favre a year later when the Packers swept the season series from the Vikings and won the Super Bowl as a No. 6 seed.

Drew Brees

This one was a little anticlimactic considering Brees switched sides so early in his career. He was in his eighth NFL season and third with the New Orleans Saints when he faced the San Diego Chargers, the team that drafted him in 2001, for the first time.

Few could have expected at the time that Brees would finish with more than 80,000 passing yards to rank No. 2 on the all-time list.

On Oct. 26, 2008, Brees and the Saints faced off against the Chargers in London’s Wembley Stadium. Brees directed a 37-32 victory and accounted for the last two of his former team’s points when he took a safety with 0:08 remaining.

Brees completed 30 of 41 passes for 339 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Joe Montana

When he retired after the 1994 season, Montana had beaten each of the 28 franchises that existed in the NFL at the time. He and Fran Tarkenton had the distinction of beating every NFL team before that expansion.

In the second week of his final season, Montana crossed the 49ers off the list. He guided the Chiefs to a 24-17 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. Montana completed 19 of 31 passes for 203 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The victory came at the expense of Montana’s successor in San Francisco, Steve Young. It was one of only three losses for the 49ers that season, as they rolled to a Super Bowl title behind Young.

Montana and the Chiefs made it to the playoffs, but a Super Bowl rematch against his former team wasn’t in the cards as the Chiefs lost to Miami in their postseason opener. He would have to settle for the four titles he won with the 49ers.