FIRST TAKE | Stephen A. BOLD Predictions for Steelers vs Packers: Pittsburgh defense can stop anyone

FIRST TAKE | Stephen A. BOLD Predictions for Steelers vs Packers: Pittsburgh defense can stop anyone

against his former team, the Packers, Sunday night. Both teams have had a strong season so far and a lead in their respective divisions. It will be the first time Rogers takes on his old team since being traded to the Jets in 2023. Rogers will be making his 247th career start Sunday, the third most quarterback before facing an NFL team for the first time. He ranks behind Tom Brady before he played the Patriots for the first time with the Buccaneers and Brett F before he played with the Packers. Played the Packers rather with the Vikings. Swag and Peter Shre is in house. Pete, I know you usually sit in this chair, but damn it, you look good in it, man. Here’s the problem. Here’s the problem. You understand what I’m saying? I said, “No, the NFL community don’t need to be hearing from me, but he says, damn it, they need to be hearing from you. So, I’m going to ask the questions and you answer.” I had Dick M thoughts, but they didn’t want that. Dick M. That’s a good one. That’s a good one. That’s a good one. That’s a good one. What’s up, Swaggy? What’s up, my brother? How y’all doing? I like the suit. I’m good. I’m good. Let’s get right to it. Um, Shreger. Yeah. Which quarterback do you trust more, Aaron Rogers or Jordan Love? I’ll take Jordan Love’s Packers versus Aaron Rogers in the Steelers. That’s what I think. That Steelers defense is atrocious. So, you look at those two together. Jordan Love has this misnomer of him not being able to win in the clutch or he can’t get it done when it matters most or he always gives the game away. The numbers don’t tell that story. Jordan Love is third best in the league as far as fourth quarter rating. He’s doesn’t give up any sacks. He’s the best in the league at not, you know, taking the bad sack. He doesn’t turn the ball over late. He’s got the best third down percentage amongst these quarterbacks. There’s this feeling that Jordan Love can’t get it done. I saw him get it done in Dallas. I saw him take San Francisco to the wire. And yes, last year he was injured at points and they didn’t take care of business, but they still were a wildcard team. Aaron Rogers is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. You don’t need me to list his accolades, but I’ve seen him lose in NFC Championship games at home against the Giants twice. Saw him lose as a number one seed against the 49ers in a big playoff game 2021. And I saw Tom Brady and the Bucks come in and beat them in their building in NFC Championship games. So, who do I trust more? Yeah, Rogers has this great body of work and he’s been really good this year, but I don’t have any of these great great collapse that Jordan Love has on the record that everyone’s suddenly thinking he can’t get the job done. Okay, swag. Aaron Rogers. Yeah, look, the Steelers are four and two. We didn’t expect the Steelers to be good. You know why they good? Because Aaron Rogers is playing well. This defense has been the let down on this football team. And when you look at the Cincinnati game, right? Let’s take that for for instance. You make a drive late in the game to put your team ahead. You expect your defense to come out and not let Joe Flacco go down the field and you lose late in that football game against Cincinnati. Take nothing away from Jamar Chase T. Higgins is on that team. I understand that. But when you think about Aaron Rogers and you think about going back to Green Bay, one incentivized, two, feels like he’s in an offense that’s now starting to find their stride. His rapport with those receivers and that tight end and that run game. I trust Aaron Rodgers more in this particular game. I agree with everything you just said about Jordan Love. Jordan Love to me, the inconsistency is what has kind of kept me on the edge until I see that strand of games where he puts them together. But the talent, the ability to play in clutch moments, I get all of that. Aaron Rogers right now is starting to look a little vintage. And I want to warn everybody, especially in this division that has taken so much attrition, although they just lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, it wasn’t because of him. And we thought that if anything went arry with this football team, it would be because old Aaron Rodgers couldn’t get back to some semblance of form to help his team win games. I’m looking at this record, doggy. They four and two. A lot of that has to do with the quarterback. Absolutely. And how he’s been playing. So, I’m going to go with Roger. I agree with you 100%. And Peter, you have to remember in the San Francisco game two years ago, special teams is the problem. Jordan Jordan Love in the last quarter and a half was awful. three for nine, 34 yards and two picks in the last quarter and a half. I gotta see. And he wasn’t great against Cleveland. He threw a terrible interception there which got the Browns back in the game. Not great last year in Philly. I think he’s got a chance to be, you know, a a guy you trust more. But right now, I think you do have to take Rogers. And you’re right, a lot of postseason issues for him too recently. But I still would take Rogers. I’m gonna tell you why I agree with Peter on this. I would go with love. This is going to be like, we have to say this, this is on the verge of being a very, very bad doom and gloom year for Mike Tomlin. When we look at the Steelers, we have religiously sat here for years and said, “Last two years of Ben Rothosberger’s career, he should have been gone by then.” Okay, he’s a Hall of Famer, but stayed a couple couple of years too long. Steelers haven’t found a quarterback. That has been the excuse, the excuse, the excuse that we’ve all fallen on and it’s accurate. Well, you got a quarterback now and he’s playing well and your defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a horrible defense. Think about that. When have we ever thought we would say that about the Pittsburgh Steelers? That’s where the problem lies. Because all along, what we’ve been saying all along is that if they just got a quarterback, no doubt, this team will contend. They’ll be in the AFC, they’ll be in the picture, they’ll make some noise. Who knows if they just could get a damn quarterback. Aaron Rogers playing this way, clicking with a DK Metav, getting productions from other cats, running the football effectively last week, you even got somebody like Warren doing a little something. I mean, offensive line not being too shabby. You putting up games where you scoring 25, 30 points. The Steelers down. Yeah. And your defense can’t stop a cold. That is not good. You don’t expect to hear that. I would go with love because love is going against his defense. It’s not even about Rogers to me. I mean, I expect I think Micah Pares and them are going to find a way to get to Rogers a few times. I got that part. Rogers might make some plays. Uh but in the end, Micah Pares and them might make their plays, too. We’ll see. But the real issue is, can the Steelers defense stop anybody? Because I’m looking at Jordan Love, 10 touchdowns, just two interceptions, complete 70% of his passes. QBR 70. You got Golden. You got Romeo Dos. You got Craft in these cats. You got Josh Jacobs. I mean, you’re looking at Green Bay and you’re saying, “Well, you’re the Steelers. What you going to do with this?” That’s the issue. Change the question. The question is who you trust. I said and I said love and I said love because he’s going against the Steelers defense. I answered the question. But why do the Steelers defense have anything to do with it in a saying in a neutral situation? Because I’m trusting Love to look great against them. That’s what I’m saying. All right. Aren’t we asking about this game analysis? I understand that. Right. If we looking for the two or three consistent defenses in this league, you going to be hardressed to get past two or three teams. All right. I saw the Green Bay Packers give up 40 a couple weeks ago. I saw them. I saw the number against the number one offense in the NFL. And and now I’m about to bring it home for you. I saw the number two quarterback miss opportunities to win the game. But on third and one and fourth and one, he got stuffed when they needed it. And and I agree with you, Peter, but have we not saw flaws in the Green Bay Packers defense that they are not the model of consistency of great defense. If Micah Parsons didn’t take over the Arizona game, there would have been a lot of issues coming out of that game. So, let’s not listen. I don’t want people to think that in in this iteration of the NFL, cuz we talking about this year, that you going to go out there and stop people. That’s just not going to happen week in and week out. I can give you all the credit in the world for the Steelers defense not being the defense that we thought they would be, but I’m not I’m not out on the fact that one week could change a lot. Didn’t you feel like they missed a big opportunity last Thursday night with the Ravens being they’re on the by week, the Ravens, it’s like just go win on a Thursday, get a nice long rest and then come out there and you show the Packers that you did. And that defense was so bad. And what scares me about the Steelers defense, as much as Rogers and Metaf got the big ads and you got all the talk here, they invested in Jaylen Ramsey, they invested in Juan Thornnehill, they invested in Darius Slay, they knew this was a I can’t hold but so much against Jaylen Ramsey though when you got to guard Jamar Chase who’s the best in the game as far as I’m concerned and they threw it and they threw it his way 23 times. I mean, and that’s early 50. They only completed 57. This the conversation, Mad Dog, do we not think they going to get better? Cuz if y’all telling me y’all don’t think the Steelers with It’s not a young It’s not a young defense. It’s like, “Hey, they need to find themselves.” These are all veteran guys. I understand that. But do you think this defense is going to play like this the rest of the way? No, I’m I’m prayful that they won’t because I don’t recognize my Steelers with a defense like this. I don’t know who they are. I’m under the same impression. I’m not saying they going to become world beaters. But if we I I watch this show. I watch a lot of shows. If we think the Cowboys are going to get better, we not going to give some credence to the Pittsburgh Steelers defense getting better as the season goes along. The guy that’s under the microscope is Terra Austin, the defensive coordinator. I understand what you’re saying about Mike Tumblin. Mike, I’m just saying. No, no, I get it. I get it. Mike Tumblin been to the playoffs with this team though without quarterbacks. I know, right? Which is why there’s no excuse for them looking this way now. He’s going to go to the playoffs this year. Okay. Okay, they want to get in the playoffs. He’s got to win a playoff game though. He hasn’t won a playoff game in a long That’s what I’m alluding to. That’s what I’m alluding to with us thinking that this You think this defense going to play like this the rest of the way, doggy, give you the last word. You have 20 seconds. Clock’s ticking. Go ahead. Uh Rogers, I like what uh Swagu said about Rogers and you for a change. He he has played really well so far in this. He didn’t have Austin against Cincinnati. He’s getting Metaf involved. He’s run better. I think Pittsburgh right now is a very dangerous team because I am with Swagu. Defense will get better and if Rogers continues to play this in a bad division, they’re going to get some home games in the postseason. We’ll see. We’ll see some home games in the postseason. If they got one, I’d be happy. Oh, they win a division. They get a home playoff game. Let’s move on. Let’s move on. Don’t interrupt me again. You just so busy. Coming up.

FIRST TAKE | Stephen A. BOLD Predictions for Steelers vs Packers: Pittsburgh defense can stop anyone