Aaron Rodgers is certainly entering the final year of his NFL career, but at the same time, many around the league feel that, with Mike McCarthy as head coach, the quarterback believes he can win another Super Bowl to end his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. ESPN’s Gerald McCoy is among them, as he recently acknowledged that the only reason Rodgers returned to play in the 2026 season was that he believes he can “win, and he’s playing like it right now.”
Watch What’s Trending Now!
That, however, didn’t sit well with Stephen A. Smith. According to Smith, Rodgers knows that the Steelers are nowhere near ready to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, but he won’t say it publicly.
“Please, will you stop it? Aaron Rodgers knows his team isn’t good enough to win a Super Bowl, okay? He isn’t going to say that, but he knows that,” said Smith on Get Up. “Aaron Rodgers was once a big time quarterback. He’s not that anymore. He’s 42 years of age. Last week, he threw three touchdown passes. Think he’s done it for the last three weeks or so.
“He threw a season. I don’t know, I forgot how many passes he threw last year, but it was a season low in pass attempts. He still completed 71% of his passes. They’ve won the game. We understand that, and we understand that, in the end, the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won a Super Bowl, haven’t won a playoff game since 2017.”
Smith’s comments came after the Steelers sit at 3-2 but have had mixed performance in the first five weeks of the 2026 season. For broader context, while Pittsburgh has managed to bounce back in the last three weeks, the team had offensive struggles in the first two games of the season.
Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers’ offensive line was creating just 0.23 yards before contact per rushing attempt, ranking second-to-last in the league at that point. Rodgers, meanwhile, had also been pressured on 38.6% of his dropbacks. Against the New England Patriots in Week 2, the struggles were obvious.
Pittsburgh lost 20-3, as Aaron Rodgers completed 23-of-39 passes for 187 yards, no touchdowns, and committed multiple fumbles. The offensive line allowed four sacks. The offense managed 235 total yards, averaging just 3.5 yards per play. After the game, Rodgers took accountability for the loss.
“As players, we’ve got to take ownership. My performance wasn’t good enough and a lot of guys on offense weren’t good enough,” said the 42-year-old quarterback. “We’ve got to start by looking at ourselves, not point the finger.”
Certainly, Smith’s point about Rodgers knowing that the Steelers won’t make it to the Super Bowl may seem reasonable, considering the offensive line’s struggles. At the same time, however, the offense has bounced back over the last three games.
Rodgers has scored at least three touchdowns in three consecutive games of a season for the first time since his MVP season in 2021.
He went 19-of-34 for 292 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception against the Cincinnati Bengals, followed by 22-of-40 for 299 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions against the Cleveland Browns, and then 22-of-31 for 235 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions against the Indianapolis Colts. Pittsburgh won two out of these three matchups.
Of course, that doesn’t guarantee the Steelers will make it to the Super Bowl. But for the time being, it remains to be seen how Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers lead the team. For now, winning the division is a difficult task, with the Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens sitting at 3-2 and 4-1, respectively.