Steelers Now
After a convincing victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers sit all alone atop the AFC North standings. The team’s number one priority coming into the weekend was figuring out how to neutralize their star pass rusher Myles Garrett by any means necessary.
Highlighting him on the scouting report is common sense, but actually executing the plan is often easier said than done, as the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year reminded them in a Week 12 thrashing last year with an 8-pressure, 3-sack performance. This time around, everyone in the building knew the assignment and did their part in making him essentially a non-factor, with Garrett finishing with just one pressure and zero hits on the quarterback.
Beyond being the owner of a plethora of NFL records, the Steelers’ 41-year-old signal caller has plenty of experience going mano a mano with elite defenders. Rodgers, a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer himself, was highly complimentary of Garrett’s game-wrecking ability, acknowledging that the Browns star will be joining him in Canton eventually someday. When speaking with the media earlier in the week, Pittsburgh’s signal caller dropped some nuggets on how they planned to counteract his effectiveness.
“Get the ball out, for sure,” he said. “When we (the New York Jets) played the Steelers last year, our plan was to get four hands on T.J. Watt every single play and not let him dominate the game.”
And to the entire operation’s credit, that’s exactly what they did and the scoreboard reflected that success.
No quarterback has gotten the ball out of his hands quicker than Rodgers this season, as his 2.57 seconds time-to-throw is the fastest time among starters in 2025 per NGS. That approach has been wildly effective, and that continued on Sunday versus the Browns, with the quarterback going 12-15, 145 yards, and one touchdown toss on passes that took place under 2.5 seconds.
As you can imagine, this alleviates pressure off a young offensive line tasked with slowing down one of the league’s best pass rushes to date. At this stage of his career, Rodgers is winning primarily with his mind and lightning release more than sheer physical talent, and right now, it’s helping mask some of their deficiencies as a collective.
The Steelers passing game primarily flows through a handful of quick game concepts that Rodgers has taken a liking to over the course of his illustrious career. It’s not sexy, but it’s been pretty effective thus far. Rodgers’ decision-making was on display on this rep below in the third quarter, with the offense running a shock concept (stick-fade-hitch) out of a trips formation.
The Browns are playing man coverage, but he notices that the outside cornerback is cheating the play, knowing the quarterback’s favorite target is running a fade versus single high. Take a look at Rodgers’s footwork: 1-2-3, and the ball is out with zero fat on his drop, and he’s able to make an accurate throw despite not being all the way...
