Rodgers' record with the Steelers stood at three wins and two losses through five games after Pittsburgh defeated Indianapolis on Sunday. A 12-point margin separated the two sides at the final whistle, with Pittsburgh finishing on 34 and Indianapolis on 22.
With the ball travelling 80 yards before Warren gathered it in the end zone, Rodgers moved past Manning into third place on the all-time list for touchdown passes thrown — a milestone reached before the first quarter had concluded. Heading into that Sunday's action, both Rodgers and Manning had accumulated identical career totals of 579 touchdown passes. His progression through the NFL record books placed Rodgers ahead of both Peyton Manning, a Hall of Fame inductee, and Ben Roethlisberger, who spent his career with the Steelers.
Following the victory, Rodgers addressed reporters on the matter of joining Manning in the all-time passing record books, saying that any comparison to Manning carries real weight for him, and noting — with a visible smile — that he considers the placement well-earned, given the deliberate nature of the throw he attempted.
Of all the quarterbacks to accumulate league MVP awards in greater numbers than Rodgers, only Manning — whose career stretched across 1998 through 2015 — managed that distinction. Five NFL MVP honours went to Manning — collected across 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2013 — while Rodgers holds four of his own, earned in 2011, 2014, 2020, and 2021. Among quarterbacks with the most touchdown passes in NFL history, Rodgers occupies third place, with Brady's total of 737 and Brees's mark of 608 standing ahead of him.
With his 166th victory as an NFL starting quarterback, Rodgers moved ahead of Roethlisberger on the all-time regular-season wins list. With that mark standing alone at fifth place on the all-time list, Rodgers trails only Tom Brady (251), Brett Favre (186), Peyton Manning (186), and Drew Brees (172) — the last of whom was once a teammate — in that statistical category.
Rodgers put together his most complete outing of the season on Sunday, doing so with three receivers sidelined by injury. Completing 22 of 31 pass attempts for 235 yards and three touchdowns, Rodgers joined a short list of Steelers quarterbacks who had managed three-touchdown performances in three straight outings — a stretch no Pittsburgh starter had put together since Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw.
Three players stepped up to aid Rodgers on Sunday — Warren, tight end Pat Freiermuth, and wideout Germie Bernard, who was making his way through his rookie campaign. Six receptions from Bernard produced a personal-season-best 80 yards, while Freiermuth pulled in a pair of touchdown grabs. On 15 carries Warren gained 101 rushing yards, adding another 87 through the air on six receptions.
No player had managed both an 80-yard touchdown reception and a 50-yard touchdown run within a single game since Herschel Walker did so in 1986.
The offensive line's blocking held up throughout the game, giving Rodgers room to operate despite the questions that had surrounded the unit after the previous week's defeat to Cleveland. Pittsburgh's running game found traction behind that unit, which surrendered only one sack while generating 112 yards from 16 rushing attempts — a group that features Max Iheanachor, a first-round pick still in the early stages of his NFL career.
Pittsburgh's defense held Indianapolis to five field goals across the contest, while two turnovers on downs — both surrendered by the Colts in the closing stretch as they worked to close the gap — went in the Steelers' favor. Pittsburgh's defensive unit put together a more composed performance, a notable contrast to the difficulties it encountered during the trip to Cleveland a week and a half earlier. Wilson, playing at linebacker, recorded ten tackles while also getting his hand on a fourth-down pass to break it up.
Three victories at home without a defeat mark Pittsburgh's record through the current season's opening stretch. Heading into the following Sunday, Pittsburgh has yet to record a victory away from home this season, while Tampa Bay arrives at that matchup having secured its opening win of the year during last Thursday's game in Dallas.
