Aaron Rodgers Development Emerges in Steelers-Texans Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Jan 12, 2026 10:02 PM ET

Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers are in action on Monday night against the Houston Texans. The Steelers finished the regular season with a 10-7 record for the No. 4 seed in the AFC, which meant home-field advantage in the wild card round. They host the Texans at Acrisure Stadium on Monday night with a spot in the divisional round at stake.

Rodgers has been a game-changer for the Steelers in his first season with the team. In 16 games played throughout the campaign, the four-time NFL MVP registered 327-of-498 completed passes (65.7%) for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Rodgers also had 21 carries for 61 yards and one rushing TD.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8).© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Rodgers made history again on Monday night. The 42-year-old’s big moment came at around the four-minute mark of the second quarter. Rodgers found wide receiver Adam Thielen with a 4-yard pass on fourth down.

Rodgers and Thielen combined for a crucial first-down conversion in the game. The Steelers went on to score a 35-yard field goal on the drive, cutting down Houston’s deficit to 7-6.

With his 4-yard pass in the first half, Rodgers climbed the NFL’s all-time leaderboards for most passing yards in the playoffs. NFL+, the league’s official streaming platform, announced the news via social media.

“Aaron Rodgers passes Ben Roethlisberger for the 3rd-most playoff pass yards in NFL history ” NFL+ posted on X.

Aaron Rodgers passes Ben Roethlisberger for the 3rd-most playoff pass yards in NFL history

HOUvsPIT on ESPN/ABC
Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN Apppic.twitter.com/fkWYqsyuRJ
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) January 13, 2026

Rodgers entered the wild card game with 5,894 passing yards in 22 games played. He passed Roethlisberger, a Steelers icon, who has 5,972 passing yards to his name. Rodgers is now chasing Peyton Manning (7,339 yards) and Tom Brady (13,400), who are second and first, respectively, on the all-time list.

The Steelers will need much more from Rodgers in the second half. As of writing, Pittsburgh is still down 7-6 with 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter. So far, Rodgers has logged 9-of-15 completed passes for 79 yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The winner of Monday’s contest will face the New England Patriots in the divisional round on Sunday. It will be the end of the line for the losing team.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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