CINCINNATI — Aaron Rodgers keeps climbing the NFL’s all-time passing yards list, and Thursday night, he stepped over an all-time Steelers great.
Rodgers overtook Ben Roethlisberger for fifth in all-time passing yards with a 15-yard throw to running back Jaylen Warren with 1:58 remaining in the second quarter of a down-to-the wire 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. He trailed Roethlisberger’s mark by 115 yards entering the game and the pass to Warren eclipsed that mark by 1 yard.
Rodgers finished 23-of-34 passing for a season-high 249 yards, with four touchdown throws and two interceptions.
He now stands at 64,222 passing yards for his career.
Roethlisberger, who retired in 2021 with 64,088 passing yards, spent his entire 18-year career in Pittsburgh. Rodgers joined the Steelers this offseason, his third team in a 21-year career.
Against the New England Patriots earlier this season, Rodgers passed former Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (63,440 yards) for sixth on the list. He also passed fellow former Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre (508) for fourth in career passing touchdowns.
At the time, Rodgers downplayed passing Favre and reaching other milestones.
“It means I’ve played a long time,” Rodgers said. “I grew up on the Niners. Quarterbacks were my favorite, and then Brett, and then I got to play with Brett. I was drafted the year after Phil Rivers, had a friendship through the game with him for years. Loved watching Phil play, just his mannerisms, his lack of swearing, trash talk. Phil was one guy I really enjoyed watching on tape and the only guy to get out of the Pro Bowl with an excuse that he had his eighth or ninth kid, I think, right before that. So, good to be mentioned with those guys.”
