‘Second to None’: Seahawks Set to Duel Against Smooth Operator Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh

RENTON, Wash. - Coming off one of the worst seasons of his illustrious NFL career at 41 years of age, Aaron Rodgers wasn’t courted by a bunch of teams in free agency this past spring after the New York Jets decided to cut him in March.

In fact, with reports surfacing that he had considered walking away from the game after 20 seasons, Rodgers remained unsigned deep into the offseason, still without a new team after the 2025 NFL Draft concluded. With the rest of the league sharing their assessment of the three-time MVP at this point in his career through lack of interest, only one team made sense for the player as an obvious landing spot in the Pittsburgh Steelers, who opted not to re-sign Russell Wilson or Justin Fields or court a younger, proven free agent such as Sam Darnold.

Not in a rush to sign, Rodgers eventually inked a one-year deal with the Steelers in early June, arriving in time for OTAs to begin gelling with his new teammates and taking over as the undisputed starter with veterans Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson as well as rookie Will Howard on the roster. Frustrated about how things ended in New York, he came to the Steel City with an enlarged chip on his shoulder, eager to show he still had something left in the tank to push Pittsburgh back into contention.

Few knew what to expect from Rodgers in his debut, which happened to come against his former team in the Meadowlands, but the revenge game couldn’t have gone much better for the future Hall of Fame quarterback. Playing a near flawless four quarters, he completed north of 70 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and no turnovers, spearheading a come-from-behind 34-32 victory that proved he may not be washed up after all.

Having watched Rodgers dissect defenses as an elite operator over the years, as he game plans for the grizzled passer with a road date in Pittsburgh looming on Sunday, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald understands he won’t be able to fool a quarterback who truly has seen everything. And he certainly isn’t overlooking his physical tools either after watching him shred the Jets last weekend.

“His arm talent, the quarterback ability is there, but Aaron Rodgers, the operator, is second to none,” Macdonald told reporters prior to practice on Wednesday. “He’s on his game and he knows everything, so you have to assume that going in and not a lot of tricking going on. We're going to have to win our one on ones to have a good game on defense. We're going to have to play great run defense and in the pass game, we're going to have to win our one-on-one battles.”

Historically, at least as a play caller, Macdonald had never squared off in a chess battle against Rodgers until last season, when Seattle flew cross country for a late November matchup against New York. Though the game started rough with the Jets building a 21-7 lead behind two touchdown passes from Rodgers and a kickoff returned for six points, the tide turned midway through the second quarter as the Seahawks started to dominate on defense.

Inside eight minutes to play in the first half, Rodgers failed to see defensive tackle Leonard Williams dropping back into zone on a zone blitz, telegraphing a throw right to the 6-5, 300-pound defender for a gift-wrapped interception. “Big Cat” wound up returning the pick 92 yards for a touchdown, and including that defensive score, the Seahawks outscored the Jets 19-0 for the rest of the game to steal a 26-21 road win as Rodgers barely finished with a 50 percent completion rate after a fast start.

But as is always the case, that game won’t have much - if any - of a bearing on Sunday’s second duel pitting Macdonald’s defensive mind against Rodgers, who has far better circumstances around him with his new team. The Steelers traded for former Seahawks star receiver DK Metcalf in early March, ultimately replacing George Pickens as the team’s new No. 1 target, pairing him with speedy Calvin Austin and an exciting crop of tight ends featuring Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, and Darnell Washington.

Along with a better overall supporting cast than he had in New York, Rodgers also has done well so far in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s scheme, particularly in the play action passing game. Even without the benefit of an effective running game, Smith called play action 35 percent of Pittsburgh’s drop backs and the crafty veteran carved up New York’s secondary off play fakes, completing eight out of 10 attempts for 101 yards and an NFL-high three touchdowns in Week 1.

Rodgers spread the wealth in his first game as a Steeler, completing at least three passes to five different receivers and connecting with seven receivers overall. This included Metcalf, who led the team with 83 receiving yards on four receptions, as well as Austin, who caught four passes for 70 yards and scored a touchdown. He also had eight completions to Freiermuth and Smith, who turned one of his five receptions into a score, while running back Jaylen Warren and receiver Ben Skowronek each caught touchdown passes.

“His operation is just really great, that includes throughout the play as well. I mean, it’s Aaron Rodgers for a reason,” Macdonald explained. “All those details add up, over such a long period of time.”

At full strength, dealing with a rejuvenated Rodgers in an offensive system that plays well to his current strengths and a talented supporting cast at the skill positions would be a challenge for the Seahawks. But Macdonald’s team may have one arm tied up behind its back on Sunday due to a litany of early injuries in the secondary, including rookie Nick Emmanwori suffering a high ankle sprain in the opener and both cornerback Devon Witherspoon and safety Julian Love missing practice time this week.

With Love not listed on the final injury report, Seattle should still be in decent shape to counter Pittsburgh’s YAC-heavy aerial attack led by Metcalf, Austin, Freiermuth, and Smith. But with Witherspoon and Emmanwori both sidelined, Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde will have to be creative figuring out how to plug those holes with two of their top six defensive backs - along with their two primary slot defenders - unavailable against one of the sharpest quarterbacks in the league with all of his weapons at his disposal.

As far as possible replacement options, the Seahawks could elevate safety D’Anthony Bell, who played 20 snaps in the slot during the preseason and has previous experience as a big nickel with the Browns. Shemar Jean-Charles has mostly been a boundary corner during his time in the NFL, but also has the tools to possibly fit into that role, while Coby Bryant previously started as a slot cornerback and the team could go that route with Bell and/or Ty Okada playing the other safety spot instead.

Being shorthanded on the back end will put more pressure on the Seahawks’ defensive line to get home and collapse the pocket to mitigate Rodgers’ smooth pocket movement and flick of the wrist quick release, but there’s good news on that front. Along with Jarran Reed being good to go after missing a practice with a sore back, Uchenna Nwosu has been a full participant all week and will make his 2025 debut against a Steelers offensive line that allowed four sacks last week, including three surrendered by left tackle Broderick Jones, who Nwosu likely will see a lot on Sunday.

Injuries happen in the NFL and as Macdonald gladly will point out, it’s all about the next man up and even with Friday’s final practice in the books, mental preparation remains ongoing heading towards Sunday. Regardless of who Seattle plugs into the lineup for Emmanwori and Witherspoon, it will be on him and the coaching staff to put the players on the field in a position to succeed in their one-on-ones and make life tougher on Rodgers than New York did last weekend, and whether they can execute that plan or not will be a major factor in if they leave the Steel City with their first win of 2025.

“We had a good week. We're chasing details right now and just had a good practice. Fortunately, it's still Friday when you get another however many hours before we play the game, so we have time to dial it in and feel great going into the game.”