SI

Aaron Rodgers’s Message to Shedeur Sanders Revealed After Browns Beat Steelers

Kristen Wong

Aaron Rodgers and Shedeur Sanders shared a sweet moment together after the Browns beat the Steelers on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers and Shedeur Sanders shared a sweet moment together after the Browns beat the Steelers on Sunday. / Screengrab on Twitter/ @ComplexSports
In this story:

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers may not have liked the way Sunday's game against the Browns ended, but he still took the time to congratulate his much younger opponent on the other side of the field.

Pittsburgh fell painfully short of a comeback in the 13-6 loss, with Rodgers managing to drive down the field in the last two minutes only to come up empty in the Browns' red zone on the Steelers' final offensive plays of the game. The pivotal loss weighed heavy on the Steelers, who would have clinched the AFC North (and a playoff berth) with a win.

Still, Rodgers appeared to be in good enough spirits to dap up Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders on the field after the final whistle. The 42-year-old was all smiles going in for a hug with Sanders, and then imparted a simple message to the young rookie:

"Good job man," Rodgers told Sanders. "Rooting for you, man. I'm proud of you. I'm happy for you."

Sanders also briefly met up with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who embraced him and said, "Good job, young man. Stay up."

Sanders, who is now 2-4 across six starts this season, downplayed the significance of playing against Rodgers for the first—and perhaps last—time in his young career.

"It's nice," Shedeur said when asked about facing Rodgers. "But we got a lot of old people in our locker room, so it be surreal all the time. I'm just 23. I'm just 23, having fun."

Sanders's dad Deion had played against Rodgers back in 2005, when Rodgers was in his rookie season with the Packers and Deion was in his final NFL campaign with the Ravens. Rodgers, who only played the second half of the game, was picked off by Deion and Green Bay ended up losing, 48-3.

Rodgers didn't have much better luck against Sanders on Sunday afternoon, but maybe there will be a next time. So far, though, it's Sanders's family, 2—Rodgers, 0.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

Home/NFL