When the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals play in Week 7, it will mark only the second time that Bengals QB Joe Burrow and new Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers have met in a regular-season game. The last time Burrow and Rodgers faced off was back in 2021, while Rodgers was still with the Packers.
Rodgers got the better of Burrow in a 25-22 overtime win in Cincinnati. Rodgers completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns (with one interception). Burrow matched Rodgers’ two touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions.
Now, Joe Burrow and Aaron Rodgers will match up twice in 2025. And Burrow is looking forward to it.
“That’ll be a fun, fun two games,” Burrow said, according to bengals.com. ” Obviously, I got a lot of respect for Aaron and like him as a person. I only played him one time, so it will be nice to play him twice.”
Aaron Rodgers has played the Bengals four times in his career with a 2-2 record. However, three of those games occurred before the Bengals selected Joe Burrow first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. The two have had very limited opportunities to face off against each other. Rodgers was still with the Packers for Burrow’s first three seasons in the league. Then Rodgers went to the New York Jets, but the Jets never faced the Bengals in the two seasons he was in New York.
But now, they are primed to face off twice. The first matchup will be in primetime on Thursday night. That will be quite the story, one of the best quarterbacks of the last two decades versus one of the best in the league currently.
And it sounds like there is a healthy amount of respect between the two. Burrow says that he respects and likes Rodgers. While Rodgers was sidelined with his Achilles’ injury in 2023, he reached out to Burrow while he was struggling with a calf strain.
Aaron Rodgers talking about Joe Burrow on @PatMcAfeeShow: “I don’t think people realize how much pain and limited mobility he was in.”
Rodgers sent Burrow a text: “That’s what great competitors do. They show up and play through the pain and don’t make it a big deal.” pic.twitter.com/EcOxnvUCMi
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 26, 2023
In 2024, the Steelers and the Bengals split the season series. And Joe Burrow set a record by completing 80.4 percent of his passes in the second matchup. No quarterback has a higher completion percentage against the Steelers’ defense while attempting at least 40 passes. While he may have been talking about playing against Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow is certainly looking to continue his high level of play against the Steelers’ defense.
When the Steelers and Bengals take the field in Week 7, Aaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow will still be friends. But for those three or so hours, they’ll be doing everything they can to power their respective teams to victory. And Burrow is excited for that.
