PITTSBURGH – In the end, Aaron Rodgers helped Mike Tomlin reach “the standard” without taking the final snaps of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season.
By that metric, this season with Rodgers at quarterback lived up to expectations. Pittsburgh made the Super Bowl tournament and won a weak division. It never posed a legitimate threat of winning it all.
The Houston Texans made sure of that with a 30-6 victory Monday in the wild-card round. They’ll face the New England Patriots on Sunday, Jan. 18. Whether Houston’s dominant defensive showing retired Rodgers from the NFL is sure to be an offseason-long drama if his free agency from 2025 is to be mirrored at all. Mason Rudolph replaced Rodgers for the Steelers’ final offensive drive of the game, which became a blowout thanks to two fourth-quarter touchdowns by the Texans’ defense.
Potentially, Rodgers’ last pass in the NFL was a pick-six returned 50 yards by Calen Bullock.
Pittsburgh will be licking their wounds after Rodgers was sacked four times by Houston’s vaunted defense and front-seven. Tomlin hasn’t won a playoff game in his past six tries. The next time he does will snap a gap of at least 10 years since his last playoff victory.
