Through the first five games of the 2025 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have won four of those contests. At 4-1, with the team hoping to win the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens lost four of their first five. Pittsburgh was ready to win the division as long as they were consistent. The Cincinnati Bengals, meanwhile, lost Joe Burrow to injury and started 2-3. Everything seemed perfect for the Black and Gold, and Aaron Rodgers’ experiment seemed to be working.
Then the bottom fell out. After losing to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football 25-10, Pittsburgh found itself in a tailspin losing three of its last four games while Lamar Jackson returned to the Ravens after an injury and suddenly Baltimore raised its record to 4-5 by winning three of its last four games. Between the Steelers and Ravens, the last four games have been complete tossups and now Baltimore is poised to overtake the Steelers in the standings with a game in hand.
In the Chargers’ loss, Aaron Rodgers had his worst game of the season and one of the worst of his career. Bad timing on his part to play a horrible match. Between overthrows and overthrows to receivers, Rodgers threw for just 161 yards and missed 15 passes in 31 attempts. With two interceptions, his only touchdown to Roman Wilson came at the end of the match when the final result was a foregone conclusion. His passer rating was an embarrassing 50.5. Rodgers was also sacked three times and that was partly blamed on him for holding on to the ball too long. That and he fumbled the ball under pressure on a play he was able to recover, but did so in the end zone, causing a safety.
Although defense was a concern several games ago, it appears the unit is playing much better and more cohesively. However, TJ Watt is no longer the threat he once was. Yet they are holding on while the opposite is the case now because the offense is incompetent and playing very poorly. You can’t blame the running game, because Jaylen Warren runs hard and efficiently. He rushed for 70 yards against Los Angeles and had a mark of 5.0 yards per carry. On one play he jumped on a defender, which will likely end up on many highlight reels.
The play of stud DK Metcalf is a big concern. His arrival in Pittsburgh was expected to pose a significant threat to the receiving corps and while he has shown signs of making big plays in recent games, he has been a ghost. After this latest loss, the focus needs to be on Aaron Rodgers. In Los Angeles, he played like an older quarterback. He didn’t seem as confident on the court, and his passing attempts were a bit jarring.
As repetitive as it is, Art Rooney II, Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin mostly put all their eggs in Aaron Rodgers’ basket before the season started. They were determined to bring him in and, although at first he showed signs of being the AD of old, he now seems to be fading. Since his performance in the Bengals’ loss on October 16, his last three games look like this:
- 219 passing yards vs. Green Bay and 12 incomplete passes, 101.5 passer rating, two touchdown passes, sacked three times.
- Against the Colts, despite the victory, 203 passing yards, 10 failures, only one touchdown pass, and three more sacks. Passing mark? 95.3.
- Then there’s that Chargers loss. 15 incompletions, only 161 passing yards, one touchdown but two interceptions, a fumble that he recovered but was put on the scoreboard as a safety, and that aforementioned passer rating of 50.6.
What’s frustrating for Steelers fans is that this team has legitimate talent, but considering Aaron Rodgers’ performance and the fact that after DK Metcalf, no disrespect to Calvin Austin, there is no viable option for Metcalf. It is now glaringly apparent that trading George Pickens was a HUGE mistake. Not getting another wide receiver before the trade deadline is also in question.
What I think now is that it’s safe to say that maybe the Steelers shouldn’t have traded George Pickens. But even if he was still on the team, he needs a quarterback who will get him the ball. Aaron Rodgers is off to a good start, but he seems to be regressing and looking at his facial expressions, he is frustrated and looks like he is going against what he committed to when signing a contract with the Steelers.
What Rodgers said publicly before the season started was that this was probably his last season in the NFL and he just wanted to go out, have fun and enjoy the game. This hardly seems to be the case at present. I thought we’ll have to wonder if he’ll get to a point where he gets so frustrated that he quits football before the end of the season. Crazier things have happened.
Before Rodgers signed, I was fine with just handing the starting quarterback job to Mason Rudolph. He had started in the past and even got the Steelers to the playoffs while being knowledgeable about the Steelers playbook. If the losing continues, we could see Rudolph before the end of the season.
So where do the Steelers go from here? Below are their remaining opponents and side by side the Baltimore Ravens and how I project possible outcomes.
| Steelers | Crows |
| Cincinnati Bengals (W) | to the Cleveland Browns (F) |
| at Chicago Bears (L) | New York Jets (W) |
| Buffalo Bills (L) | Cincinnati Bengals (W) |
| at Baltimore Ravens (L) | Pittsburgh Steelers (W) |
| Miami Dolphins (W) | to the Cincinnati Bengals (if Joe Burrow returns, it’s an L, otherwise a W) |
| with the Detroit Lions (left) | New England Patriots (F) |
| to the Cleveland Browns (F) | at Green Bay Packers (L) |
| Baltimore Ravens (W) | to Pittsburgh Steelers (G) |
| Final score: 9-8 | Final score: 10-7 |
Now, as crazy as the NFL is this season and how difficult it is to predict games, anything can happen. Maybe the Steelers right their offensive ship and win this game against Buffalo and it’s possible they can beat the Bears. This would bring their final record to 11-6. As for the Ravens, let’s say they sweep the Steelers and win the Packers game. This would mean they would not lose another regular season game this season and would finish 12-5 and the Steelers’ second loss would put Pittsburgh at 8-9 if the above predictions hold.
One thing is certain; Baltimore’s remaining games are like a walk in the park. If Pittsburgh fails to make the playoffs and they slip out and lose in the first round again, Steelers Nation will be calling for Mike Tomlin to be fired and wanting major changes for 2026. The whole Aaron Rodgers signing will blow up in the collective Rooney/Khan/Tomlin faces and their big idea will be a total failure.
Finally, I don’t know how many fans saw it, but on national television, as the game was winding down, there was Mike Tomlin on camera, smiling and making out with a referee. Ahh… HELLO? Your team just got their ass kicked and seeing him smile and laugh when he should be worrying about his team’s offensive performance didn’t sit well with me.
