Despite Aaron Rodgers being 42 years old, the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to run things back with the veteran quarterback this season. While the Steelers once again failed to win a playoff game last season, Rodgers arguably played above expectations. With better players around him, there’s hope that Pittsburgh can improve on what it did in 2025.

Former NFL corner Jason McCourty recently broke down how he would defend against the four-time NFL MVP.

“He doesn’t have to be too mobile,” McCourty said on ESPN’s NFL Live. “And I think as a defense, I want to put the fear in Aaron Rodgers’ heart. You’re not going to confuse him. There is no pre-snap movement that Aaron Rodgers has not seen. There’s no new defense to install. I want to give him the same look each and every play, but I want him to think that we are coming after him.

“I want him to have to get the ball out quick and not allow DK Metcalf to be streaming down the sideline and throwing the ball off. Get it out to Michael Pittman Jr. and all of those guys right now so we can just tackle them where they catch it. We don’t want the explosive plays. Keep it short, make tackles, and keep the defense going.”

Most quarterbacks start losing their superpowers when they get into their 40s, if they last in the league that long. Only Tom Brady has defied Father Time long enough to still play at an elite level at that stage of his career.

Unfortunately, Rodgers hasn’t held off time as well as Brady did. While he’s not washed up, much of his athleticism is gone. Rodgers might not have had a reputation as a scrambler, but he had good movement skills in his prime. That was one of the most underrated parts of his game.

Rodgers still has a big arm, but he can’t move as well anymore. That’s part of the reason why he got rid of the ball so quickly last year. Rodgers can still push the ball downfield. However, his offensive line needs to play at a high level to give him those chances.

Throwing pressure at Rodgers worked out well for teams last year. Look at how poorly he played in the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Houston Texans last year. There’s a reason why running back Kenneth Gainwell led the Steelers in catches. Rodgers often checked the ball down to avoid the pressure he was facing.

Per NextGenStats: Aaron Rodgers was pressured on 45.9% of his dropbacks against the Texans, the 2nd-highest pressure rate he has faced since at least 2018.
Rodgers was sacked 4 times, including a strip sack which was returned for a touchdown, and completed just 5 of his 13 pass…

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) January 13, 2026

Gainwell made the most of those opportunities, but that wasn’t always a winning strategy for the Steelers. Expect defenses to try to keep the heat on Rodgers again.

The Steelers have a few ways to combat that strategy, though. They’ve got better weapons around Rodgers, and in Mike McCarthy’s system, perhaps they’ll be able to better move the ball, even if Rodgers has to check the ball down often. The Steelers lacked playmakers in a big way last year. Pittman and rookie Germie Bernard could help fix that problem, opening the Steelers offense up more.