​Aaron Rodgers and Cameron Heyward walk off the field after Sunday’s win. Photograph: Todd Rosenberg/Getty ImagesAaron Rodgers is nowhere near this season’s MVP conversation. At times in his second season with the Steelers, the almost 43-year-old has shown glimpses of the player he was in his prime, slinging the ball with zest and precision, able to suss out any coverage. Other times he has looked like, well, a guy in his 40s playing a young man’s game.Rodgers looked more like prime Rodgers in the Steelers’ gritty 16-10 win over the Saints in Paris. He wasn’t satisfied with his side of the ball, telling reporter Molly McGrath, “I don’t think we played very good on offense today.” But Rodgers did enough to secure the win, including a 51-yard strike to DK Metcalf in the second quarter. He later scrambled for a first down on third-and-six to secure the win.Sure, there were points left on the table – the Steelers had several stalled drives and only scored one touchdown in four red-zone trips – and 16 points against a two-win team isn’t impressive. But the Steelers left France with a win, a 5-2 record and a ton of upside.So here’s a crazy thought: Could Rodgers win a Super Bowl in his final NFL season?But when you consider the parts around Rodgers, perhaps it’s not so crazy. As competent as Rodgers was against the Saints, the defense stole the show. They smothered Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, and shut down the Saints run game as Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen had predicted. This Steelers run defense is punishing and only improving. In Weeks 1-4, they allowed 4.5 yards per carry. Over the last three weeks, it has dropped to 2.8 yards per carry. All told, Pittsburgh’s defense has allowed just three touchdowns in the last 15 quarters. That is some 2025 Seahawks-level domination.Offensively, Rodgers is no worse than Sam Darnold was last year when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. He’s thrown 13 touchdowns and five interceptions for 1,699 yards through his first seven games this season – Darnold had 12 TDs, four picks and 1,754 yards over the same span in 2025. Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss likened Rodgers to a point guard, noting the advantage he has over other NFL quarterbacks. “Even though he’s up there in age, I think that’s an advantage to him, his mind,” Elliss said after Sunday’s game. “And I think he used that today.”Maybe Rodgers’s football IQ could catapult Pittsburgh to a deep playoff run in the AFC. Yes, there are the perennial Super Bowl contenders like Kansas City and Buffalo, but no AFC team this season is a winning machine like the Patriots in the Brady-Belichick era.And, after a ho-hum Super Bowl from a star power perspective, a Rodgers return to the big stage would set off fireworks.Of course, Rodgers comes with plenty of baggage due to his commitment to his “own research” during Covid, his ridiculous antipathy towards Anthony Fauci and his habit of calling out coaches and teammate