The Green Bay Packers will remain on the road this week, taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The two franchises are two of the model organizations in the NFL, and as similar as any two across the rest of the league.
The Packers have the look of the Super Bowl contender, and the Steelers looked like they should have been 5-1 coming into this game before they were tripped up in Cincinnati against the Bengals in what turned into a shootout.
This game won’t have much impact on tiebreaking scenarios, because it is out of conference, but it should have plenty of juice with the first point of our weekly six pack.
1.) Return Of the King
Any conversation surrounding this game has had one thing in mind.
The Green Bay Packers will be facing off against Aaron Rodgers.
No, this will not be the revenge game that it is billed to be. Rodgers may harbor some feelings against some members of the organization, but has largely spoken highly about his time in Green Bay.
That’s drastically different from when Brett Favre faced Green Bay for the first time. He made it no secret that he wanted to beat the Packers and beat them badly.
That led to his signing in Minnesota after one year with the Jets.
This game is different, but make no mistake, Rodgers wants to win, and the Packers want to beat him.
2.) Storied Franchises
In terms of championships, no team has won more than the Green Bay Packers, with 13 titles to their name.
In terms of Super Bowls, only the New England Patriots have matched the excellence of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
These are two model franchises facing off in Pittsburgh this weekend.
There were some whispers this game could move to Ireland, with the Steelers having to go there as part of the NFL’s International Series.
The NFL wisely put this game on American soil for these two teams to face off.
3.) Former Badger
This game has connections all over the place, and if not for the presence of Rodgers, TJ Watt might be the biggest storyline coming into this game.
Watt, of course, played in Madison for the Badgers for his collegiate career.
The Packers had a chance to draft Watt but traded out of the first round to eventually select cornerback Kevin King out of Washington.
King had a few nice moments in Green Bay, but Watt is likely ticketed for a gold jacket when his career is finished.
Watt is not ready to retire anytime soon. He has four sacks on the season and one interception. He could be looking for more when the two teams lock horns on Sunday night.
4.) Prime Time Pack
Green Bay has been all over prime time early in the season, with only one game in the early window to start their season.
All of their other games have been night games, if not in the second window of the NFL’s Sunday slate.
In two true prime time games, the Packers are 1-0-1 this year, with a 27-18 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 2, and a 40-40 tie on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys at the end of September.
That’s something to get used to, with the NFL’s flex scheduling, and Green Bay’ status as one of the best teams in football this year, they’ll likely have a lot of games later in the day.
5.) Trade Pieces
Two big pieces for each of these teams were acquired via trade this offseason, the first of which was Pittsburgh receiver DK Metcalf.
Metcalf was acquired for a second-round pick at the start of the offseason.
There was some speculation that the Packers were interested in potentially acquiring Metcalf but ultimately fell short.
Metcalf is Pittsburgh’s leading receiver on the year.
Of course, the Packers were happy to have missed out on Metcalf, because they made a big trade of their own.
They acquired Micah Parsons for two first-round draft choices.
Parsons has been as disruptive as any player in the NFL through the first six games of the year and emerged as one of Green Bay’s best players.
Safe to say, the trade acquisitions are working out for both teams.
6.) Super Bowl Rematch
Sunday’s game comes in what is the 15th season since these two teams met in Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6, 2011.
Oddly enough, the winning quarterback from that game will be playing for the other team in this iteration of the matchup.
Rodgers won MVP honors that day for the Packers, throwing three touchdown passes, and a 31-yard strike to Greg Jennings to help take valuable time off the clock.
That game represents the last time that either team has played on Super Sunday.
