Aaron Rodgers spent most of this past weekend tied for the NFL lead in passing touchdowns with 14. More than one-third of the way through his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rodgers is well on pace to set the franchise passing touchdowns record.

But moreso than that Rodgers is on pace to throw for 39 scores — five more than Ben Roethlisberger or anyone else has ever thrown in a season for the Steelers — Rodgers’ TD production is illustrated moreso by comparing it to more recent Steelers quarterbacks.

Take, for example, that in two full seasons with the Steelers (25 games, 24 starts), former first-round pick Kenny Pickett managed fewer touchdown passes (13) than Rodgers has over a span of 43 days.

Those six games into the Rodgers era have seen more passing touchdowns than all of the 2023 Steelers quarterbacks managed (13). Same for the 2022 season (12).

Even last season, which was punctuated by Russell Wilson’s “moon balls,” the Steelers didn’t reach 14 passing touchdowns until December. This year, it was only a few days after Columbus Day, and that is even while factoring in an early bye week.

“With a young team like us, I feel like it gives us a boost of confidence just knowing you’ve got ‘8’ (Rodgers’ uniform number) back there,” left tackle Broderick Jones said Monday after meetings at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “He’s calling the shots, he’s making sure everybody’s right. He’s just a shot-caller, and that’s a big help, definitely, knowing that he’s back there because I know he’s going to control what needs to be controlled on the field when it needs to be done. It gives me confidence to go out there and play for him.”

Rodgers, who faces his former team, the Green Bay Packers, on Sunday night, leads the NFL in touchdown percentage: 8.1% of his throws have accounted for six points. For context, Pickett’s TD rate with the Steelers was 1.8%.

This is wild. Bengals secondary let Pat Freiermuth get behind them.

Aaron Rodgers with a dart pic.twitter.com/XQlfurJUDK

— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) October 17, 2025

Rodgers also ranks among the top 12 in the NFL in completion percentage (ninth, 68.6%), yards per attempt (12th, 7.4) and passer rating (10th, 105.0).

When the Steelers pursued Rodgers over the spring to be their fifth different opening-day starter in as many seasons, it was posited by many that even at 41 years old, the former four-time NFL MVP could provide the Steelers their best QB play since pre-surgery Ben Roethlisberger in 2018.

By many measures, it’s played out that way, and Rodgers’ contributions are as prominent as any in the Steelers’ first-place standing.

“It helps out,” right tackle Troy Fautanu said of having a passer as accomplished as Rodgers. “Obviously, the big key going into these games is running the ball. And I feel like we’ve been doing a good job at that. But then when you have a quarterback that can step back and throw the ball around the field, it’s helpful.”

Aaron Rodgers held onto the ball for 8.6 seconds before finding Jonnu Smith in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown, Rodgers' longest time to throw on a TD pass in the NGS era (since 2016).#PITvsCIN | #HereWeGopic.twitter.com/pzCYb3IpFU

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 17, 2025

Perhaps the biggest surprise in Rodgers’ game this season has been the nimble feet and mobility he’s shown in the pocket and while scrambling outside of it. Rodgers’ ability to avoid pressure, find passing lanes and extend plays was at its peak during this past Thursday’s 34-31 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals.

Touchdown passes to Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth displayed examples of Rodgers’ deft movement behind the line of scrimmage. He also has rushing gains of 6 and 10 yards over the past three games.

“He’s helping us out,” Fautanu said, referencing the offensive line as a whole. “Obviously, we didn’t give (up) any sacks (the past two games), but he played a big factor in that, too, getting the ball out early and moving around with it.”

Rodgers has been sacked just twice over the Steelers’ past four games and for the season has a 4.85% sack rate. For context, below 5% is considered good. Rodgers rates 12th among 34 qualifying passers in that metric, one that speaks as much to quarterbacks as it does to a team’s offensive line.

“Aaron has been moving a lot better these past couple of weeks,” Jones said. “If you go back and just watch the film, you can see you can see him back there moving around from left to right.

“I thought he was 25 again.”

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