- - From ‘Fire Tomlin’ to first place in AFC North, Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers quieted noise with win over Ravens

Jori EpsteinDecember 8, 2025 at 6:17 AM

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BALTIMORE — The first read on Aaron Rodgers’ rushing touchdown was not a run.

Facing third-and-1 from the 1-yard line midway through the first quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers hoped instead to pass off of play action.

The vision: Tight end Jonnu Smith’s presence at the line of scrimmage would create a heavy personnel presence that foreshadowed a run. Then, Smith would sneak out to catch a pass.

But Rodgers saw the left side of the Steelers’ offensive line had “caved in,” he said, so he escaped from the pocket. He saw that the Baltimore Ravens defenders chasing him were, well, larger and perhaps not as nimble as he (read: 341 and 370-pound defensive linemen pursuing a 223-pound quarterback).

So while wide receiver DK Metcalf thought the play was busted, and others may have wondered how fast a newly 42-year-old quarterback protecting the ball with a broken non-throwing wrist would truly be, Rodgers ran in a touchdown.

42-year-old Aaron Rodgers with the keeper TD:pic.twitter.com/dQrvf84WtF

— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) December 7, 2025

The touchdown wasn’t just the first of a division rivalry game the Steelers would ultimately win, 27-22.

It was also Rodgers’ first rushing touchdown since 2022 — and his first since a Sept. 2023 torn Achilles. Rookie quarterback Will Howard was ready for the celebration that the milestone warranted.

“I’ve been waiting to see the ‘Discount Double Check’ [celebration],” Howard told Yahoo Sports from the postgame locker room. “And he kept saying: ‘Rushing touchdowns only. Rushing touchdowns only for the double check.’ So I’m glad that we got that today. … That was vintage Aaron Rodgers.

“He’s still playing like he’s well into his thirties.”

The Steelers didn’t play a complete game on either side of the ball as the Ravens came a third step and mild officiating controversy away from rallying back in a fourth quarter that featured no Pittsburgh points. But Rodgers’ deep ball and his legs initially powered the Steelers lead in a game in which they only trailed for 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Pittsburgh’s defense, and particularly its red-zone defense, stepped up to finish the job.

The result: At 7-6, the Steelers now control the AFC North. Just one week after the home crowd in Pittsburgh broke out into audible “Fire Tomlin” chants, the win in Baltimore lifted Pittsburgh’s chance at making the playoffs to 68%, per Next Gen Stats.

[Get more Steelers news: Pittsburgh team feed]

The win should also, at least for now, quiet speculation about the 19-year Steelers head coach’s future.

“To get a win like this right now, it’s going to create momentum,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “We all understand how everything went this week.”

Rodgers turned back the clock to set tone for Steelers vs. Ravens

The Steelers’ passing game seemed to drink from the fountain of youth as Rodgers became the seventh quarterback in NFL history to start a game at age 42. Potential reasons were aplenty.

Perhaps Rodgers’ progression healing his nonthrowing wrist fracture contributed to his improved mobility and deep ball as he threw for 284 yards and a touchdown a week after throwing for 117 and no scores. Rodgers was able to transition to a soft cast as his bones heal; and he was able to field snaps under center again, even if it didn’t much improve his team’s play-action game on a day when the Steelers managed just 34 rushing yards.

And perhaps the Ravens’ preference for man coverage without a consistent safety over the top favored the Steelers and Rodgers’ strengths, Metcalf knowing deep sideline passes were absolutely in play as he didn’t face his usual volume of double coverage. Rodgers registered five explosive passes, including 52- and 41-yard bombs to Metcalf down the right sideline that traveled 44 and 26 air yards, respectively.

The Steelers were intentional about firing deep early, eager to set the tone in a division game before momentum fired up the home crowd.

“We were in an aggressive posture all day,” Tomlin said. “I just think that’s how we got out of bed this morning. That’s what’s required when you’re playing these guys in their venue.”

Or was it the addition of veteran receivers Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdez-Scantling to the Steelers roster that help explain the improvement from Rodgers’ 47.6% completion percentage in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills to this week’s 67.6%? Rodgers touted an increased level of professionalism from his weapons, Thielen admitting he jumped into a vocal role after initially crediting his new teammates with teaching him the plays.

“I might’ve talked a little too much early on,” Thielen told Yahoo Sports. “I texted DK and said, ‘Hey man, if I’m overstepping at all, let me know.’ And he’s like, ‘No, man: Talk as much as you want.’”

Add in a festive week featuring Rodgers’ birthday on Tuesday, and the Steelers were more than ready to celebrate. Receiver Ben Skowronek purchased a vanilla birthday cake from Oakmont Bakery, he told Yahoo Sports, while he directed Howard and fellow rookie Max Hurlman to show up to the birthday edition of Rodgers’ home film sessions with balloons featuring the numbers four and two. The rookies delivered: Howard confirmed he blew the balloons up himself.

So by Sunday, Metcalf was saying that “this week just felt different as a team, as a whole” after the Rodgers-Metcalf connection that had shined in Wednesday and Thursday practices translated to seven connections for a season-best 148 yards.

Add in key defensive stops when the offense stalled in the fourth quarter, including a game-sealing sack from Alex Highsmith, and the Steelers were able to escape with a win. It was a win they all knew they needed sorely — for their playoff hopes and for their head coach’s future.

Even as players sought to downplay the “outside noise,” the “Fire Tomlin” chants echoed in their ears.

“This game is huge,” Howard said. “Talk about a turning point this season. If it went the other way, it could be a lot different.”

With Steelers back in control, will Tomlin speculation quiet?

Tomlin’s coaching acumen has garnered him broad respect in the NFL world. Sunday’s win puts him on track for his 19th straight year without a losing season. The Steelers have advanced to the playoffs 12 times in Tomlin’s 18 full seasons.

But with no playoff wins since the 2016 season and the last Lombardi Trophy dating back to the 2008 season, it is not unreasonable to remember no coach stays with a team forever.

Tomlin will have his choice of 2026 jobs should he want it. The question instead is: When will the Steelers and/or Tomlin decide they’re ready for a new marriage? Signing Rodgers for what could be the last year of his NFL career only further emphasized the sense of urgency in Pittsburgh. The team’s roster is aging, a long-term solution at quarterback elusive. It’s not difficult to imagine a world where Tomlin takes over a talented team with a quarterback, and the Steelers find their next coach with the ability to offer remarkable patience in a league not known for it. Pittsburgh also has an offseason decision to make about Tomlin’s 2027 option, ESPN reported this weekend.

With Tomlin saying ‘in general, I agree’ with the “Fire Tomlin” chants last week, the noise about his future was more than just outside noise.

And yet, at least for the week, the clamor should reduce to nothing more than a din. Because the Steelers team that lost both head-to-heads with the Ravens last season managed to beat their toughest division foe in 2025.

Tomlin’s defense, albeit leaky in allowing 217 rushing yards, made stops in key moments including an interception and two sacks of Lamar Jackson. The Ravens’ offense flashed in moments, including on Jackson and Zay Flowers’ connection. But a catch that was initially ruled a touchdown to Isaiah Likely turned out to be incomplete, after a controversial replay review ruled Likely did not make a football move after getting two feet into the end zone.

The Ravens converted on just 2 of 6 trips to the red zone. They wrecked a forced punt with an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Steelers’ snapper. And Baltimore lost the turnover battle as the broken-wristed Rodgers won a battle for his batted pass, turning a near-interception into a pass to himself for a loss of 9 yards.

The gritty moments reflected Tomlin’s ethos.

Steelers players thoroughly endorsed their leader in a spirited postgame locker room — including players who have experienced other NFL coaches and cultures.

Mike Tomlin, Cam Heyward and Aaron Rodgers head to locker room after Steelers’ 27-22 win over Ravens lifts Steelers to first place in AFC North pic.twitter.com/3CVhSQJMTf

— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) December 7, 2025

Metcalf, whom the Steelers acquired from the Seattle Seahawks in March, praised Tomlin as a “great leader” who’s “done nothing but take the bullets for us.” Thielen, who has spent parts of 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and two with the Carolina Panthers, raved about Tomlin’s intentionality.

And Skowronek, a member of the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl championship team in the 2021 season?

“Coach Tomlin, in my opinion, is the best leader of men I’ve ever been around,” Skowronek told Yahoo Sports. “Coach Tomlin's real. He will have the hard conversation with you. He'll call you out. There's a standard that we have to live by every day. And if we're not living by the standard, he's going to let you know about it.

“But he is also a great motivator.”

So no, Steelers players in a spirited postgame locker room did not seem to desire a split from Tomlin, nor were they split amongst themselves on his excellence. And no, as Steelers team owner Art Rooney II walked into the postgame locker room with his family, he did not look like an owner in search of a change or upheaval.

And Tomlin himself? He didn’t directly touch on the calls for his job Sunday in the way he had five days prior. But he did blow a kiss at CBS cameras after the win and he had no hesitation celebrating a “big win for us, obviously, in a hostile environment.”

Rodgers, after a week of vanilla cake and balloons and a throwback rushing touchdown, took it from there.

“Maybe,” the quarterback said of conversation around his head coach, “you guys will shut the hell up for a week.”

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”