Aaron Rodgers Leaves Steelers Game With Hand Injury

As the first half came to a close in their Week 11 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to injure his hand.

On the Steelers' final drive of the second quarter, Rodgers took a pair of hits in Bengals territory. Joseph Ossai was called for roughing the passer after appearing to hit Rodgers up high on an incomplete pass intended for Kenneth Gainwell, but he came up holding his left hand/wrist after failing to connect with Gainwell on a 2nd-and-goal throw later in the series.

Aaron Rodgers is grimacing in pain while holding his left hand/wrist pic.twitter.com/lynkCrGrQT
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 16, 2025

PennLive's Nick Farabaugh went on to report that Rodgers headed to Pittsburgh's locker room early before halftime and stated that it appeared he was bleeding. As the teams came out for the start of the second half, head coach Mike Tomlin stated on CBS' broadcast that Rodgers was being evaluated for a hand injury and that the Steelers were getting Mason Rudolph ready to play.

Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten later announced that Rodgers was questionable to return.

#Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers has a left hand injury and he is questionable to return to today's game.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) November 16, 2025

Implications of Rodgers' Injury

Rodgers remained in the contest after coming up with his injury and threw an incompletion in the direction of Pat Freiermuth before Pittsburgh settled for a field goal that extended its lead to 10-6 entering halftime, but he was not available to open the second half.

As a result, Rudolph is receiving substantial playing time for the first time this season in a crucial divisional bout with the Bengals that could have major implications on how the AFC North standings shake out this year.

Before sustaining his injury, Rodgers had thrown for 116 yards and a touchdown while completing nine of his 15 pass attempts on the day.

The 41-year-old had remained healthy for the entire season up to this point, and entering Week 11, he had racked up 1,853 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a completion rate of 66.8 percent.

Can Rudolph Help Steelers' Offense Wake Up?

While Rodgers has done an admirable job this season for the Steelers, he's coming off of a Week 10 performance against the Los Angeles Chargers in which he threw two interceptions with a season-low completion percentage of 51.6% to go alongside 161 yards as Pittsburgh lost 25-10.

The Bengals' defense is among the worst in the NFL, and though Pittsburgh has led throughout the entire contest, the offense hasn't exactly lit it up against them.

Rudolph hasn't had a real chance yet this year after returning to the organization as a free agent this past offseason, but perhaps he could provide the spark the Steelers need.

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