Jordan Rodgers is — surprisingly — rooting for his brother Aaron Rodgers’ playoff chances after their family reunion.
During a Wednesday, November 4, appearance on ESPN, Jordan, 38, was asked which AFC starting quarterback he would trust the most going into the playoffs. (Aaron, 42, leads the Pittsburgh Steelers.)
“This one might surprise you a little bit,” Jordan began on the broadcast. “I’m gonna go Rodgers, and here’s why … [because] the Steelers know who they are. They have an elite defense that’s playing at a high level and they run the freaking ball, so they’re asking less of Aaron than they ever have at any point in his career, right? He needs to manage the run game, he needs to find opportunities to get his playmakers … in space.”
He continued, “I just feel like I trust the guy that’s got the MVPs, that has the veteran status that’s seen everything that’s also not required everything of him for them to win. I think that’s a good sweet spot they’re in.”
The brothers had long been estranged ever since Jordan revealed to now-wife JoJo Fletcher on a 2016 episode of her season of The Bachelorette that Aaron would not be present with the rest of their family due to long-held drama. Aaron later criticized his sibling for publicizing their familial issues.
Aaron, thanks to his mysterious wife Brittani, ultimately reconciled with his parents, as well as brothers Luke and Jordan earlier this year.
“There was some stuff there and then I could tell I was coming to a time where I needed to make it right,” Aaron said on the “Not Just Football” podcast in September. “My parents were wanting to move to Nashville to be closer to their grandkids, and there were some tragic events that happened in Chico, [California] that kind of made them not feel as tied to it.”
Aaron traveled to California to mend fences with his parents, Ed and Darla, before hitting the road to speak with Luke, 44.
“A couple weeks after that, I met with my little brother. It was cool,” he added of Jordan, revealing the siblings had a “tough conversation” together. “I’m in a much better headspace, and I said it before, but my wife deserves a lot of the credit for that just to be even able to to get to that point where I could think about having the conversation.”
Weeks later, Jordan made a rare comment about Aaron while appearing on ESPN’s First Take.
“I think if you truly watched Week 1, this was a team that was a few drops and a few drops away from being absolutely explosive like we haven’t seen out of the Steelers in a really long time,” Jordan said of the Pittsburgh team’s season start. “Rodgers was actually very accurate down the field. The throws that were not completed because of either a non-call or a drop down the field were on the money. Not trying to be a homer.”
