Former Steelers QB Has Sky-High Expectations for Aaron Rodgers, Team

The 2025 season was a frustrating one for Pittsburgh Steelers fans.

Yes, the team went 10-7, won the NFC North, and was a top-four seed in the playoffs, but they were eliminated by the Houston Texans in an embarrassing 30-6 defeat in which quarterback Aaron Rodgers played arguably his worst game of the year.

So, to better support Rodgers in 2026, the Steelers brought in a head coach Rodgers won a Super Bowl with and had some of his best statistical seasons under in Mike McCarthy.

They also revamped the offensive side of the ball, adding running backs Rico Dowdle (free agency) and Eli Heidenreich (Round 7, 2026 draft), wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. (trade) and Germie Bernard (Round 2, 2026 draft), tight end Riley Nowakowski 9Round 5, 2026 draft), and offensive linemen Max Iheanachor (Round 1, 2026 draft) and Gennings Dunker (Round 3, 2026 draft).

Those additions, plus his previous relationship with McCarthy is why former Steelers QB Charlie Batch, who spent eight years with the Steelers from 2003 to 2012 and won two Super Bowl championships as Ben Roethlisberger's backup, believes Rodgers and the team are primed for a big year in 2026.

"When you look at overall, for the season that he had [in 2025], it far exceeded anything else that anybody expected around Steelers Nation," Batch told TMZ. "That's why they wanted to run it back with him. The Steelers did a really nice job of retooling that offensive side of the ball, getting him some weapons that he didn't have last year. I fully expect him to have a better season this year than he did last year.

"… Even though he has not been in the offseason program up until this point, he is so far ahead of everybody else because he's essentially has a Ph.D. in this offense - he's had four league MVPs - that's why they're looking to run it back in this particular case."

Batch also believes the Steelers are the favorites to repeat as division champions again next season - something most analysts would disagree with given both Baltimore and Cincinnati are healthy and possess arguably more talented rosters.

"When I look at it, because the Steelers did not say this was a rebuilding year, I'm expecting them to go all-in and compete for a championship - something that they all are thriving for because they fell short for a lot of years and hopefully this is going to be their year.

"I would say yes [they are the team to beat in the division] only because they are the division winners from last year and they essentially have the majority of their team coming back. … So when you look at the way they're retooling it, they feel like they can throw their hat in with anybody, and nobody in the division puts fear in the Steelers' heart."

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 5:05 PM.