PITTSBURGH -- For the first time in his career, Aaron Rodgers silenced chants of "Go Pack Go" as he rocketed a 24-yard completion to wide receiver DK Metcalf on Sunday night. For his first 18 years in the NFL, big plays like that would've ignited such a chorus. But with Rodgers playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the chants once used to celebrate and encourage him were instead meant to antagonize.
"I've heard that chant for 18 years," Rodgers said. "Packer fans travel really well. First time in a while I've used silent count for a home game. That's a credit to those Packer fans."
And though he silenced the well-traveled cheeseheads with that pass and a handful of others, the quiet didn't last long.
On a night when Rodgers had a shot to follow in his predecessor's footsteps and beat the Packers in their first meeting since parting ways, Rodgers and the Steelers were instead overwhelmed on the field and by the Packers fans in the stadium en route to a 35-25 loss.
"Disappointed," Rodgers said of his emotions after the game. "Disappointed I didn't play better, that we didn't play better, especially in the second half."
Rodgers completed 24 of 36 attempts for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns. But he was also sacked three times, and after the Steelers put up 178 yards of offense in the first half, they added just 117 more in the second as they dropped their second game in a row to fall to 4-3.
"I think in the three losses, there's been times where we've had opportunities, and we've hurt ourselves with turnovers or just negative plays -- so we got to cut those out," Rodgers said. "We got to get on the same page on offense and defense and keep the faith."
Hours before Packers fans raucously greeted their former quarterback, members of the organization embraced and chatted with Rodgers on the field at Acrisure Stadium. Rodgers admitted his emotions would've been "different" had Sunday's game been played at Lambeau Field, but it was still an opportunity to see those who were part of his formative years in Green Bay.
Rodgers took the field about 3½ hours before the game and spent more than half an hour talking with Packers representatives, including former fullback-turned-analyst John Kuhn and head athletic trainer Nate Weir. Rodgers also chatted with the team photographer and some other players and staffers as they trickled out of the visitors' tunnel.
"Good to see a lot of people that I grew up with in the league," Rodgers said. "I was out there spending time with some of those guys, and I enjoyed that."
In the week leading up to the game against the organization that drafted him with their first-round pick in 2005, Rodgers insisted he didn't view Sunday as a "revenge game," and he emphasized afterward that he was mostly still connected with the Packers through support staffers more than players on the field.
"This game is about relationships, so some of my dearest friends are not players," he said. "And the guys who were still over there -- I didn't have much time with many of those guys. I had J Lo [Jordan Love] in the room with me for three years, but most of those guys were young guys, other than Rashan Gary, who played with me for a few years. The guys that I spent 18 years with, training staff, equipment staff, nutritionist, [pass game specialist] Connor Lewis, who was in our room for a while, [senior assistant] Luke Getsy was there. ... Guys I spent a lot of time with. Those friendships are special, and it was good to see those guys."
Gary, one of the few players Rodgers played with, wasted little time reminding his former teammate of his abilities as Gary sacked him on third down to force a field goal on the Steelers' first drive. It was the first of two sacks by Gary on Sunday night. Pass rusher Micah Parsons also brought down Rodgers for a loss of 10, his sack coming on first down just after the Packers took a 22-19 lead in the fourth quarter.
"I thought we got behind the chains, and when you get behind the chains, man, you're not in an advantageous circumstance," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "It's a challenge with their rush and some of the rush people that they have. You got to protect it, you got to go downfield and that was challenging. The best course of action is to stay on schedule, and we weren't on schedule enough, particularly in the second half."
Entering the game, the Packers emphasized knocking Rodgers off his spot, and they accomplished it without blitzing. The Packers blitzed Rodgers only once on 39 dropbacks -- just 2.6% -- tied for the lowest blitz rate of Rodgers' career as a starter when he has thrown at least 10 passes, according to ESPN Research.
"Going into the game, that was one of our goals, just trying to make it hard for him to see his reads, make him move around a lot in the pocket," Gary said. "He's a Hall of Famer. If you give him time in the pocket, to pat the ball, he's going to give his playmakers an opportunity to make plays."
Though the Packers' defense made life difficult for Rodgers and the Steelers' offense, which converted just 1 of 10 third downs, Rodgers still had highlight-reel throws, including the 24-yard completion to Metcalf over the middle, a 21-yard touchdown to Roman Wilson and a deep attempt to Calvin Austin III on third down that drew a crucial pass interference call and extended the Steelers' first touchdown drive.
"That's why he's the GOAT," Parsons said of Rodgers. "He's one of five quarterbacks in the league where you say he's one of the greatest of all time. He's on that GOAT list next to [Tom] Brady, under Brady and there's only a select few guys that you're going to put right there with him. That's why he is who he is, and that's why he's still able to play at a high level."
Afterward, linebacker Patrick Queen expressed frustration that the Steelers couldn't help Rodgers beat his former team.
"We all knew what it meant," Queen said, adding that Rodgers didn't address his teammates about the significance of the game. "That's the stuff that kind of stings the most. You want to go get that for him. Obviously, with me last year [against Baltimore], got the win the first time. ... You want to go get it for him. So that definitely stings. Definitely stings."