There is no doubt that the New England Patriots are going to be facing a future Hall of Fame quarterback on Sunday. The Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing Aaron Rodgers to Foxborough for Week 2, and while he may not be in his prime anymore, he’s still a major threat.
Certainly, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel knows what Rodgers is capable of. After all, they played against one another. So, he made sure to lavish Rodgers with praise during a recent appearance on The Greg Hill Show.
“Obviously, a Hall of Famer,” Mike Vrabel said. “Extremely talented. Plays the game with the defense. Wants to know and wants to have all the answers. When you start to see some of these quarterbacks that are the age where Aaron’s at, the arm talent starts to decrease. I didn’t see that [Sunday] at all. The ball came off his hand, it popped off of there. He put it in great spots. He probably doesn’t run as well as he ran when he was younger, which sometimes happens to everybody, but the arm talent is still there, which is extremely impressive.”
In 2025, Rodgers threw for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns. Those were both low marks for him, outside of the year he tore his Achilles, since 2017, which was another injury-shortened season. He opened in Week 1 with some continued struggles, completing 24 of 40 passes for 221 yards and 1 touchdown.
New England Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Shared a Warning About the Pittsburgh Steelers
During his Monday press conference, Mike Vrabel took some time to look ahead to the Steelers. There, he had an immediate warning for the Patriots as they try to take care of business against an elite defensive line.
“Defensively, if you better don’t take care of the edges, it’s going to be an issue,” Vrabel said. “Strip sacks, interceptions, um, [Cameron] Heyward and [T.J.] Watt have probably 64 PBUs in the last five years, and that’s pass rush PBUs. Their ability to create ball disruption even if they don’t get there. Great length, sound. They tackled well. They caused some turnovers.”
In the opener, Watt even managed a pick-six. That went along with four sacks and just 4.2 yards per play allowed. So, the Patriots’ offensive line and quarterback Drake Maye do have their work cut out for them.
In his press conference, Vrabel also managed to praise what Rodgers was doing. That’s even as he’s aging at this point in his career.
“Aaron [Rodgers] got the ball out of his hand, was able to really throw into some tight windows effectively. Felt comfortable extending plays and found [Pat] Freiermuth in there. So, it’s not like you can just go ahead and just disregard any sort of like pass rush. He’s still going to be able to extend plays, and the arm talent is there. They have two good backs that run hard. We’re starting our preparation today, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage,” Vrabel said.
The Patriots Need a Win
It was a rough way to start the season for the Patriots. With a 10-0 lead on the road against the Seattle Seahawks, they fell apart in the second half. Maye threw three interceptions, and the defense couldn’t hold up, falling 13-10.
Now, the Patriots need to bounce back quickly. They return to New England for their first home game of the season in Week 2 against the Steelers. There, they’ll take on a team that has hopes of making it to the playoffs.
More than avoiding an 0-2 start to the season, the Patriots need to look at their entire early season schedule. With the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills then coming up in weeks 3 and 4, respectively, there aren’t many cupcakes to battle early on, and the defending AFC Champions could find themselves in a hole quickly.
Patriots Mike Vrabel Praises Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers Ahead of Game