Although it will come in the preseason, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will face the Green Bay Packers for the second time in his career Thursday night. Rodgers spent the first 18 years of his career in Green Bay.
Thursday’s game, though, will be in Pittsburgh’s. The quarterback explained to reporters in a Zoom call Wednesday he would have preferred to play at Lambeau Field one more time.
“I was really hoping this one was going to be in Green Bay, not just to get back at Lambeau one more time, but to head out to Chives for a dinner and maybe head out to Green Bay Country Club for a quick nine or something,” Rodgers told Packers reporters, via sportswriter’s Steve Megargee. “I was really hoping it was going to be in Green Bay, for a lot of reasons.”
Rodgers faced the Packers with the Steelers in last year’s regular season. That game was also at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
If Rodgers is truly entering his final NFL season, he won’t play at Lambeau Field as a visitor.
“It would have been strange, being in that locker room and stuff,” Rodgers added. “But I would have found my way over, like many former players have over the years, found my way over to Flea’s (Packers head athletic trainer Bryan Engel’s) office and hang out back there and see some of the guys and see some of the trainers and equipment staff and all the people I really care about that still work there.
“Yeah, I was definitely bummed out that we weren’t in Lambeau for this one.”
Steelers-Packers Square Off in Preseason Week 1
GettyJordan Love and the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in October 2025.
Last fall, Rodgers had the chance to become one of the rare quarterbacks to defeat every NFL team in his career. But Rodgers and the Steelers lost to the Packers 35-25 in their Week 8 matchup last year.
Rodgers completed 24 of 36 passes with two touchdowns. But he only had 219 yards while his counterpart and former teammate, Jordan Love, racked up 360 passing yards with three touchdowns.
The Steelers and Packers won’t play during the 2026 regular season. Perhaps they could meet in the Super Bowl, but that won’t be at Lambeau Field.
Rodgers has told reporters this fall will be his final season. That means he will finish his career with a 91-23-1 record at Lambeau Field with 253 touchdowns and just 41 interceptions.
Those wins and statistics led to countless memories.
“Players around the league, they talk about how special it is to play at Lambeau, and sometimes you might miss that or forget about that when you’re playing because it becomes so normal to have such an amazing crowd and they’re tailgating and they’re loud and they rarely sell their tickets to other teams’ fans,” said Rodgers. “There’s a lot of great things about Wisconsin.
“I grew up there, really, and became a little more mature as an adult over the years there and had a great time and still have a lot of close friends there, a lot of fond memories.”
Will Aaron Rodgers Play Thursday vs. Green Bay?
GettyPittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers shared his thoughts on facing the Green Bay Packers in the preseason opener.
Rodgers made clear he wanted to visit Green Bay as a player one more time. But as far as the game is concerned, it’s not for certain he’s going to play anyway.
The veteran quarterback strongly suggested to the Pittsburgh media this week that preseason is valuable for younger players. At this stage in his career, though, Rodgers stated he gets no advantage out of playing in the exhibition campaign.
Rodgers added that he will play if asked. But it was apparent he would prefer not to play.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Tuesday it would be his decision whether or not Rodgers plays.
Kickoff between the Steelers and Packers on Thursday will be at 7 pm ET on NFL Network.
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