Study: Can Aaron Rodgers Improve Pittsburgh On 1st Down?

Aaron Rodgers Steelers playoffsToday, I wanted to look at new Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and how he fared as a first-down passer last season. Early down success can obviously lead to many good things on offense, and the hope is to see if Rodgers’ recent resume presents any optimism (or vice versa) for the Black and Gold in 2025.

First, let’s get a gauge on accuracy with first down completion rate, along with catchable rate (excluding spikes, throwaways and miscommunications, and including defensed accurate passes):

Rodgers was clearly better than 2024 Steelers starter Russell Wilson. The latter was below the mean in each, while Rodgers had an at-the-mean 67.9 first down completion…