Mike Tomlin is set to begin his 19th season in charge of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his previous Super Bowl triumph with the franchise, which came way back at the end of the 2008 season, is now very much a distant memory.
Now, however, the 53-year-old is suggesting that his team may just surprise the sportsbooks and pundits by going all the way in 2025. Clearly, those efforts will depend greatly on what newly acquired veteran Aaron Rodgers can achieve in what is by all accounts his final season in the NFL.
Steelers fans who are confident that Pittsburgh could go deep into the playoffs can bet on those aspirations with the help of this amazing Bet365 bonus code, which will make any potential payout even sweeter.
The capture of 41-year-old Rodgers, albeit in the short term, could prove pivotal. However, Tomlin will hope to have a player more befitting of his Super Bowl ring and four NFL MVP awards than the player who limped through two seasons at MetLife Stadium.
Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury in his first game as a New York Jet, and though he performed with some credit in 2024, the veteran was still some way off his very best. It should be noted, though, that the Steelers are a much better proposition than the Jets and Tomlin has been very vocal about what he thinks can be achieved in 2025 and beyond.
“We feel really good about the prospects of this group. We do,”
“We’ve got to write that story. We’ve got enough talent, we’ve got enough schematics to do big, big things. When I say big things, I’m talking about historic things.”
On whether Rodgers can get back into the swing of things, one thing is for certain, the former Green Bay Packers star will certainly secure more than his fair share of the headlines, often for non-footballing reasons and this point has been echoed by Steelers’ back-up quarterback Skylar Thompson who sits behind Rodgers and Mason Rudolph in the pecking order with Will Howards sidelined with a hand injury.
“I think he gets misinterpreted a lot because people judge a book by its cover and don’t really know him,” the 28-year-old former Miami Dolphins man commented before continuing.
“I’m not claiming that I really know him, but just being around him on a daily basis, he’s a good dude, cares about his teammates, holds people accountable. There’s a real desire for greatness that he expects all the time, and that’s been a great perspective for me. “
“He comes out here every day with a smile on his face. Whatever music is playing, you see him singing sometimes. Sometimes, you see him playing the air guitar. You can just tell he’s in his safe place. He’s just himself every single day. When we’re off the field, he loves being around the guys. He’s not too big for anyone. That’s really cool because not everybody’s like that, and he wants to be like everybody else. Just a really good dude.” Thompson added.
The Steelers start the 2025 campaign against the Jets, and it will be interesting to see what sort of welcome Rodgers gets from his former fans before Tomlin’s men host the Seattle Seahawks at Acrisure Stadium in NFL Gameweek Two.
