Aaron Rodgers Was Seemingly Choked Up During On-Field Interview After AFC North Win

The Steelers held on to defeat the Ravens, 26–24.

Rodgers saved the day with what would be a game-winning touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. / NFL / Screensho

By the grace of God and one rookie kicker, the Steelers somehow eked out a win vs. the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North's winner-take-all showdown on Sunday night. The team will now head to the playoffs as the AFC's No. 4 seed, while the Ravens will head home, despite some incredible playmaking from quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Speaking to ESPN's Melissa Stark after the game, Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers (who saved the day with a late-game touchdown pass to give the Steelers the lead) seemed to get a bit choked up while discussing what the berth and his year in the Steel City meant to him.

"It's pretty emotional, honestly," Rodgers said, speaking with obvious intention. "It's been a great year. I'm thankful for these guys and excited to be going to the playoffs for the first time in a long while."

Stark then attempted to get a straight answer on the 44-year-old's retirement decision, but Rodgers successfully avoided that—but not without getting a little dig in on the Jets, too.

"No, it's just been a grinding year," Rodgers said, asked if he'd be "riding off into the sunset" after this. "And the two years before that were tough as well, so," he quipped, referring to New York.

"It's been an absolute blessing to be here with these fans and this organization and Mike T and the leadership that we've got with these guys."

Watch that below:

Melissa Stark took a hard turn to the retirement question with Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/VoNx7O4LUt

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 5, 2026

Just great stuff. And no matter what happens in the postseason, it's great that the future Hall of Famer will get to go out (if that's what he decides) with a playoff appearance.

The Steelers will now play the No. 5 Texans in the wild-card round on Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. ET. In a big win for their offense, they'll be getting D.K. Metcalf back for that game, too, following the receiver's two-game suspension.

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