Aaron Rodgers delivers blunt message to Mike Tomlin’s Steelers with strong admission after win vs Patriots

Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin are back in the winning column in the 2025 NFL season as the Pittsburgh Steelers gained the upper hand in their Week 3 road game against the New England Patriots.

It wasn’t a pretty victory for Tomlin and company, as only seven points gave the Steelers the edge in Foxborough. A win is a win, but when it’s so early in the season, it’s always better to be aware when there’s room for improvement.

Rodgers made sure to remind this to his teammates after the game, making it clear that it’s the Steelers’ defense who deserve credit for the 21-14 win in New England. The offense, on the other hand, has work to do, as Rodgers was self-critical of his unit’s performance on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers admits Steelers were saved by the defense vs. Patriots

“We were terrible on offense after the first two drives. I didn’t have a good game, but the defense every time kept us in. The defense won the game, this was a classic Blitzburgh performance, hats off to those guys. Offense, we need to get in the film room and get better, because we can’t have our defense save it for us like that every week,” Rodgers admitted during his postgame interview with CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn.

Aaron Rodgers after the Steelers beat the Patriots in 2025.

“We can take a lot from the first two drives, we came out and played well, got into rythm, then we sat on the bench for like 30 minutes… Our defense played incredible, but we’ve got to get better on offense and I’ve got to play better.“

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Rodgers makes history despite Steelers’ ugly win

Rodgers finished the game at Gillette Stadium with 16 of 23 completed passes for 139 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The best of the Steelers’ offense was seen early in the first half, with Kenneth Gainwell scoring a rushing TD before DK Metcalf caught a pass from Rodgers in the end zone.

Even though Tomlin‘s defense ended up putting the team on its back en route to victory—Brandin Echols recorded an interception and made a crucial tackle with the Patriots in a fourth-and-one situation late in the fourth quarter—Rodgers got to make history on Sunday.

Rodgers passed Brett Favre in all-time career passing touchdowns, a list still led by Tom Brady. When asked about this feat, the veteran Steelers quarterback joked: “It means I’m old and I’ve been playing a long time.”