Facing third-and-1 from the 1-yard line midway through the first quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers hoped to move on from play action.
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The vision: Tight end Jonnu Smith’s presence at the line of scrimmage would create a strong personnel presence that heralded a run. Smith would then sneak in to catch a pass.
But Rodgers saw that the left side of the Steelers’ offensive line had “sagged,” he said, so he escaped from the pocket. He saw that the Baltimore Ravens defenders chasing him were, well, bigger and maybe not as agile as him (read: 341- and 370-pound defensive linemen chasing a 223-pound quarterback).
So while wide receiver DK Metcalf thought the play was blown, and others may have wondered how fast a 42-year-old quarterback would really be protecting the ball with a broken wrist that can’t throw, Rodgers ran for a score.
The touchdown wasn’t just the first in a divisional rivalry game that the Steelers would ultimately win, 27-22.
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It was also Rodgers’ first rushing touchdown since 2022, and his first since tearing his Achilles tendon in September 2023. Rookie quarterback Will Howard was ready for the celebration the milestone deserved.
“I’ve been waiting to see the ‘Double Check Check’ (celebration),” Howard told Yahoo Sports from the postgame locker room. “And he kept saying, ‘Running touchdowns only. Rushing touchdowns only for the double check.’ So I’m glad we got it today. … That was classic Aaron Rodgers.
“He still plays like he’s over thirty.”
The Steelers didn’t play a complete game on either side of the ball while the Ravens came within a third step and mild officiating controversy of recovering in a fourth quarter that featured no Pittsburgh points. But Rodgers’ deep passing and his legs initially boosted the Steelers’ lead in a game in which they only trailed for 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Pittsburgh’s defense, and particularly its red zone defense, stepped up to finish the job.
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The result: At 7-6, the Steelers now control the AFC North. Just a week after the home crowd in Pittsburgh erupted into audible chants of “Fire Tomlin,” the win in Baltimore raised Pittsburgh’s chances of making the playoffs to 68%, according to Next Gen Stats.
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The victory should also, at least for now, calm speculation about the future of the 19-year-old Steelers head coach.
“Getting a win like this now will create momentum,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “We all understand how everything went this week.”
Rodgers turned back time to set the tone for Steelers vs. Ravens
The Steelers’ passing game seemed to drink from the fountain of youth as Rodgers became the seventh quarterback in NFL history to start a game at age 42. Possible reasons abounded.
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Perhaps Rodgers’ progression toward healing his broken wrist by not throwing contributed to his improved mobility and deep passing as he threw for 284 yards and a touchdown a week after throwing for 117 and no scores. Rodgers was able to transition to a soft cast as his bones healed; and he was able to make plays under center again, even if that didn’t much improve his team’s play-action game on a day in which the Steelers managed just 34 rushing yards.
And perhaps the Ravens’ preference for man coverage without a consistent safety up top played into the Steelers’ and Rodgers’ strengths, Metcalf knowing that deep passes from the sideline were absolutely on the cards as he didn’t face his usual volume of double coverage. Rodgers recorded five explosive passes, including bombs of 52 and 41 yards to Metcalf down the right sideline that traveled 44 and 26 air yards, respectively.
The Steelers intended to shoot deep from the start, eager to set the tone in a divisional game before momentum ignited the home crowd.
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“We were in an aggressive posture all day,” Tomlin said. “I think that’s how we woke up this morning. That’s what it takes when you play these guys at their place.”
Or was it the addition of veteran receivers Adam Thielen and Márquez Valdez-Scantling to the Steelers roster that helps explain the improvement in Rodgers’ completion percentage from 47.6% in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills to 67.6% this week? Rodgers touted a higher level of professionalism in his weapons, and Thielen admitted he took on a vocal role after initially crediting his new teammates for showing him the plays.
“I may have talked too much from the beginning,” Thielen told Yahoo Sports. “I texted DK and said, ‘Hey, if I’m going overboard on something, let me know.’ And he’s like, ‘No, man: talk all you want.’”
Add in a holiday week with Rodgers’ birthday on Tuesday, and the Steelers were more than ready to celebrate. Receiver Ben Skowronek bought a vanilla birthday cake at Oakmont Bakery, he told Yahoo Sports, as he directed Howard and fellow rookie Max Hurlman to attend the birthday edition of Rodgers’ home video sessions with balloons bearing the numbers four and two. The rookies delivered: Howard confirmed that he inflated the balloons himself.
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Then, by Sunday, Metcalf was saying that “this week felt different as a team, as a whole” after the Rodgers-Metcalf connection that had shined in practices Wednesday and Thursday translated into a season-high seven connections for 148 yards.
Add in key defensive stops when the offense stalled in the fourth quarter, including a game-sealing sack by Alex Highsmith, and the Steelers were able to escape with a victory. It was a win everyone knew they badly needed, for their playoff hopes and for their head coach’s future.
Even as the players tried to downplay the “outside noise,” chants of “Fire Tomlin” rang in their ears.
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“This game is huge,” Howard said. “We’re talking about a turning point this season. If it were the other way around, it could be very different.”
With the Steelers back in control, will Tomlin speculation calm down?
Tomlin’s coaching acumen has earned him widespread respect in the NFL world. Sunday’s victory puts him on track for his 19th straight year without a losing season. The Steelers have advanced to the playoffs 12 times in Tomlin’s 18 full seasons.
But with no playoff wins since the 2016 season and the last Lombardi Trophy dating back to the 2008 season, it’s not unreasonable to remember that no coach stays with a team forever.
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Tomlin will be able to choose from the 2026 jobs if he wants. The question instead is: When will the Steelers and/or Tomlin decide they are ready for a new marriage? Signing Rodgers for what could be the final year of his NFL career only further emphasized the sense of urgency in Pittsburgh. The team’s roster is aging and it is difficult to find a long-term solution for the quarterback. It’s not hard to imagine a world in which Tomlin takes over a talented team with a quarterback, and the Steelers find their next coach with the ability to offer remarkable patience in a league not known for it. Pittsburgh also has to make an offseason decision on Tomlin’s 2027 option, ESPN reported this weekend.
With Tomlin saying ‘generally, I agree’ with the “Fire Tomlin” chants last week, the noise about his future was more than just outside noise.
And yet, for at least a week, the clamor should be reduced to nothing more than a roar. Because the Steelers team that lost both matchups with the Ravens last season managed to beat its toughest enemy in the division in 2025.
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Tomlin’s defense, while flawed by allowing 217 rushing yards, made stops in key moments, including an interception and two sacks of Lamar Jackson. The Ravens’ offense shined at times, including connecting Jackson and Zay Flowers. But a catch that was initially ruled a touchdown by Isaiah Likely turned out to be incomplete, after a controversial replay review ruled that Likely did not make a football move after reaching two feet into the end zone.
The Ravens converted on just 2 of 6 trips to the red zone. They ruined a forced punt with an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Steelers center. And Baltimore lost the turnover battle when Rodgers, with a broken wrist, won a battle for his batted pass, turning a near-interception into a pass for himself for a 9-yard loss.
The difficult times reflected Tomlin’s spirit.
Steelers players fully supported their leader in a lively postgame locker room, including players who have experienced other NFL coaches and cultures.
Metcalf, whom the Steelers acquired from the Seattle Seahawks in March, praised Tomlin as a “great leader” who “has done nothing but take bullets for us.” Thielen, who has spent parts of 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and two with the Carolina Panthers, praised Tomlin’s intentionality.
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And Skowronek, a member of the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl championship team in the 2021 season?
“Coach Tomlin, in my opinion, is the best male leader I’ve ever met,” Skowronek told Yahoo Sports. “Coach Tomlin is real. He will have a tough conversation with you. He will call you out. There is a standard we have to live by every day. And if we don’t live up to the standard, he will let you know.
“But he’s also a great motivator.”
So no, Steelers players in a lively postgame locker room didn’t seem to want a separation from Tomlin, nor were they divided among themselves over his excellence. And no, when Steelers team owner Art Rooney II walked into the locker room after the game with his family, he didn’t look like an owner looking for change or upheaval.
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And Tomlin himself? He did not directly refer to his work calls on Sunday as he had done five days earlier. But he did blow a kiss to the CBS cameras after the victory and did not hesitate to celebrate a “great victory for us, obviously, in a hostile environment.”
Rodgers, after a week of vanilla cake, lobs and a rushing touchdown, took the lead from there.
“Maybe,” the quarterback said of the conversation with his head coach, “you guys will shut up for a week.”