Aaron Rodgers' last ride starts in preseason, and it starts against a Packers team that closed 2025 by losing five straight.
Bush’s Picks
GBPIT
GBPIT
OverUnder
Best BetSteelers
Pittsburgh enters with more continuity and a healthier recent stretch than Green Bay, which limped home on a 5-game skid. In a preseason opener that's more about roster battles than results, the Steelers' deeper, more stable depth chart still gives them the edge to back here.
Packers
+Jordan Love kept his top three: Watson, Reed, Golden
+Josh Jacobs healthy and full-go in camp
−Lost 5 straight to close 2025 season
−Micah Parsons out into October rehabbing ACL
−O-line banged up: Tom and Rhyan both nursing knees
Steelers
+Went 3-2 in last 5, reached playoffs in 2025
+Revamped WR room with Pittman Jr. and Metcalf
−Rodgers, 42, entering his stated final NFL season
−Blown out 30-6 by Houston in playoff exit
−Backup QB picture behind Rodgers still unsettled
This is the first time these two franchises have met in Pittsburgh since 2015, and the storylines write themselves. Jordan Love is trying to put a brutal finish to 2025 behind him, while Aaron Rodgers is opening what he's already called his final NFL season under center for the Steelers. Neither guy figures to play deep into this one — preseason openers rarely feature much starter snap count — but the QB rooms behind them, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar for Pittsburgh, Malik Willis and the depth arms for Green Bay, will be doing a lot of the actual auditioning on Thursday, August 13.
The bigger story for both teams is who's missing. Green Bay is already down its marquee offseason addition, with Micah Parsons still working back from the ACL tear that's expected to keep him out into October, and the receiver room got thinner after Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks both left this offseason. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, retooled its receiving corps with Michael Pittman Jr. and DK Metcalf, and the buzz out of camp is about rookie Germie Bernard forcing his way into the mix behind them.
Show fees
7:00 PM ET
Spread
ML
Total
GB Packers
PIT Steelers
None of that will fully be on display in a preseason opener, but it's the backdrop the roster battles play out against. Green Bay's offensive line is banged up entering camp, with Zach Tom and Sean Rhyan both nursing knee issues, which matters more for evaluating depth pieces here than it does for any final score. Pittsburgh's got its own line question in Broderick Jones working back from a neck issue, though he's been full-go at OTAs.
Green Bay Packers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Pittsburgh Steelers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Where these two teams were trending heading into the offseason says a lot about the mood in each building. The Packers didn't just lose games down the stretch, they got run off the field doing it, dropping a 41-24 decision to Baltimore and a 16-3 dud to Minnesota before a 4-point defeat to close it out. The Steelers had their own late-season stumble, a 30-6 playoff exit to Houston, but the last-5 stretch shows more signal: wins over Miami, Detroit and Baltimore sandwiched around the two losses.
Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh Steelers
Recent form.
It's worth remembering what this game actually is: a look at bottom-of-the-roster battles and a farewell-tour headline more than a real form check. Still, for a Packers team that needs to answer questions about its receiver room and offensive line before the games start counting, and a Steelers team trying to squeeze one more good year out of Rodgers, Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium is as good a starting point as any.
