Aaron Rodgers will make his 228th career regular-season start Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals, moving him past Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes for the most starts by an active quarterback who has won fewer than two Super Bowls.
The 41-year-old Rodgers has started 227 regular-season games across 21 seasons with Green Bay, the New York Jets, and Pittsburgh. Brady made 316 starts but won seven championships, while Mahomes has started 126 games and already owns three rings, leaving Rodgers alone atop a category no quarterback wants to lead: the most career starts by a future Hall of Famer with only one title.
Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV in February 2011, his third season as the Packers' starter. He has not returned to the NFL's championship game since, despite leading Green Bay to four NFC Championship appearances between 2014 and 2020 and winning four MVP awards during that stretch.
Thursday's game at Acrisure Stadium marks Rodgers' 12th start of the 2025 season and his first against Cincinnati as a Steeler. He signed with Pittsburgh in June after two seasons with the Jets, where a torn Achilles tendon limited him to one start in 2023 before he returned for 17 games in 2024.
The record reflects a career defined by statistical dominance without postseason payoff. Rodgers ranks fifth in NFL history with 503 career touchdown passes and ninth with 63,881 passing yards, according to Pro Football Reference. His 4.85 touchdown-to-interception ratio is the best in league history among quarterbacks with at least 5,000 attempts.
He has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in 10 separate seasons and has never posted a passer rating below 90 in a full season since becoming a starter in 2008. Yet his teams have gone 11-10 in the playoffs since the 2011 Super Bowl run, including a 0-4 mark in NFC Championship games.
Rodgers' 2025 season with Pittsburgh has been uneven. He has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 2,447 yards with 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions through 11 games. The Steelers sit at 6-5 and are fighting for a wild-card spot in a crowded AFC field.
Cincinnati enters Thursday's game at 4-7, with quarterback Joe Burrow sidelined since Week 2 due to a toe injury. The Bengals have lost three straight and rank 28th in the league in scoring defense, allowing 27.4 points per game.
Rodgers, who turns 42 in December, has not announced whether he will return for a 22nd season in 2026. His contract with Pittsburgh runs through the end of the current league year.
