When fans think of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks, names like Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw probably come to mind first. Today, Aaron Rodgers continues his legacy, wearing eighth place for the Steelers. That number doesn’t have a Seven or 12 legacy in Pittsburgh, but Tommy Maddox has achieved some success with eight centers for the Steelers. Analyst Greg Rosenthal defended Maddox’s legacy with the Steelers, believing that Rogers would not be better in Pittsburgh than the quarterback that preceded Rojulgar.
“I think it’s a pretty expensive bar,” Rosenthal said. Friday on his NFL Daily Podcast. “A bar that’s higher than most non-fabric fans would say. Steelers fans said, “I think Tommy Gunn took us into the playoffs and gave us something fun. It was fun with Tommy Gunn.” Tommy Maddox had 30 points in the playoffs in a row.
“He got a comeback for that season. They made him 7-3 in his start in the regular season and were taken over by Coldel Stewart. I don’t think Aaron Rodgers is going to get to those heights.
Maddox took a long mission with the Steelers and played for them from 2001-05. His time as their starter was even shorter. Maddox replaced Stewart in 2002 and led Pittsburgh with a great run. However, the following season, his play was dropped, making the Steelers 6-10. While he was their starter to begin the 2004 season, he was injured and was where Roethlisberger started.
The rest is history. The Maddox era in Pittsburgh burned brightly, but it was short. Nevertheless, he made the most of it.
Maddox led the Steelers in one of the most surprising playoff comebacks in 2002 in NFL history. Maddox, which fell 17 points to the Cleveland Browns in the third quarter, helped the Steelers go up 22 points to a 36-33 victory in the fourth quarter.
It was an incredible performance, but the brave efforts against the Tennessee Titans continued in the next round of the playoffs. The Steelers lost that game 34-31 in overtime. Maddox gave Pittsburgh a lot to cheer for that year.
They’ll probably be excited when the Steelers get that productivity from Rogers. They have not won a playoff game since the 2016 season, so it could give Rodgers the opportunity to pass with Maddox in Steelers’ history, but a comeback with the Browns makes a lot of sense.
But it may not be possible to say that Rogers isn’t as good as Maddox. In 2002, Maddox’s statistical line was not exactly elite. He threw for 2,836 yards, 20 touchdowns and 16 intercepts. Today, such production could be roughly a season. It’s quite possible that Rodgers is statistically better than Maddox, but that may not be so important to Steelers fans without a postseason victory.
