Four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers will face the Green Bay Packers for the first time since they parted ways in 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Call it a revenge game.
Call it an ‘I’m still here’ moment.
All of that. Four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers will face Green Bay for the first time since he left the franchise in 2022 when he leads Pittsburgh into a Sunday night game against the Packers, the NFL’s buzziest game game of the weekend.
It also could be an historic night. With a win, Rodgers would join Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Brett Favre (the man he replaced in Green Bay), as the fifth quarterback to beat all 32 teams.
Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson have beaten 31. )Joe Montana and Fran Tarkenton beat all 28 teams that were in the league when they played.)
Rodgers, who led the Packers to the 2010 Super title and spent his first 18 seasons there, was squeezed out when the Pack turned to former No. 1 draft pick Jordan Love for the 2022 season. Similar to the way Rodgers got his start, after the Pack traded Favre to the New York Jets in 2008.
Rodgers had two forgetful seasons with the Jets, the first of which consisted of exactly four plays before an Achilles injury KOd him for the season in 2023, but he has looked a lot like his former self after signing a one-year, $13.65 million free agent deal with Pittsburgh.
Rodgers leads the NFL in touchdown percentage — 8.1 percent of his throws have been for scores. He did that four times with the Packers, as recently as 2020 and 2021.
Meanwhile, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and Denver quarterback Bo Nix brings some impressive numbers into their match Sunday afternoon, and New York Gians’ quarterback Jaxson Dart will make his first visit to Philadelphia and Jalen Hurts.
Dallas Cowboys (3-3-1) at Denver Broncos (5-2)
Sunday, CBS, 4:25 pm ET
Prescott has thrown at least three touchdowns passes without an interception in the last three games, which is the longest streak in Cowboys’ history and tied for the second longest in league history, according to ESPN Research.
Nix had four touchdowns — two rushing, two passing — in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ remarkable 33-32 victory over the New York Jets last week.
The Jets do not play a lot of defense, but neither do the Cowboys, who have not won consecutive games since late last season and have one road victory this season … at the Jets. Dallas has yielded the most points and yards in the league.
The Broncos were expected to be elite defensively again this season, and despite the Giants’ disruption they are still among the league leaders. The Broncs have won eight straight at home, 6-2 against the number.
The spread: Broncos -3 1/2
The money line: Broncos -174, Cowboys +146
The total: 49 1/2
The play: Broncos -3 1/2
New York Giants (2-5) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)
Sunday, FOX, 1 am ET
The Giants are two seconds away from having a winning record this season, which has taken a U-turn when Dart and rookie running back Cam Scattebo became major players, losing excruciatingly on field goals at Dallas and Denver.
The Giants have beaten the Chargers and Eagles in the last four weeks and have averaged 25.3 points per game in Dart’s four starts. Scattebo leads NFL rookies with 587 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns, and the Giants’ 94 first downs since Week 4 are second only to the Chiefs.
The Giants have not swept the Eagles since 2007, when they faced Donovan McNabb, but they have more than enough stay close, even as the Eagles attempt to even the score following a 34-17 loss two weeks ago in which they were outgained and were hurt by two turnovers.
Philadelphia has won the last eight home meetings, but the Giants are 6-2 against the spread and should continue that here.
The spread: Eagles -7
The money line: Eagles -355, Giants +285
The total: 43 1/2
The play: Giants +7
Green Bay Packers (4-1-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
Sunday, NBC, 8:20 pm ET
This game is not just about Rodgers. The Steelers have shown recent life in what could be coach Mike Tomlin’s make-or-break season with a team that does not have a playoff victory since 2016.
The Steel Curtain disappeared in a 33-31, last-second loss at Cincinnati last week, and the Packers’ Pro Bowler Micah Parsons enters after the first three-sack game of his career in Arizona.
Quick-release Rodgers has been sacked only twice in the last three games.
The Packers are 0-2-1 on the road and 0-3 against the spread this season and have looked somewhat pedestrian since a 27-13 victory over Detroit in the season opener.
Rodgers gets his revenge.
The spread: Packers -3 1/2
The money line: Packers -176, Steelers +148
The total: 44 1/2
The play: Steelers +3 1/2
Last week: 2-1
Season: 11-12