Aaron Rodgers exited the Steelers' Week 11 win against the Bengals after sustaining a left wrist injury late in the first half. While he was initially labeled as questionable to return, Rodgers never returned to the sideline during the second half, much less the field. Rodgers specifically suffered a tiny fracture in his wrist, according to NFL Media, which is also reporting that the veteran quarterback is pushing to play in this week's game against the Chicago Bears. Rodgers is reportedly 50-50 for this Sunday's game. 

There are several factor that will determine whether or not Rodgers faces the Bears, his former NFC North rival during his 18 seasons with the Packers. The potential of further injuring himself is one reported factor, along with his ability to grip a football. 

Rodgers' injury appeared to occur late in the first of Pittsburgh's 34-12 win over Cincinnati. He was seen holding his wrist after being hit by multiple Bengals defenders during the Steelers' final offensive play of the first half. Tomlin told CBS Sports' Melanie Collins at halftime that Rodgers was being evaluated and that they were hopeful that he would return at some point. 

Rodgers was replaced during the second half by Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh's longtime backup who entered the game with a 9-8-1 record as an NFL starting quarterback that included an 8-4-1 mark as the Steelers' starting quarterback. During the second half, Rudolph went 12 of 16 for 127 yards and a touchdown while directing two scoring drives. 

"He's always delivered when called upon in the past," Tomlin said of Rudolph, the only quarterback to start a playoff game for Pittsburgh since Ben Roethlisberger. "That's why we value him. His performance was consistent with what he's done in the past for us. Not that we take it for granted. We don't. We appreciate it." 

Rodgers, 41, helped lead Pittsburgh to a 10-6 halftime lead over a Cincinnati team that defeated the Steelers back in Week 7. Rodgers gave the Steelers an early lead by throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to running back Kenneth Gainwell on the game's opening drive. 

With Rodgers sidelined, Pittsburgh added to its lead in the third quarter. After Rudolph's first drive ended in a Chris Boswell field goal, Steelers safety Kyle Dugger made it a 20-9 game when he recorded a 73-yard pick-six off of Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco late in the third quarter. 

After a Bengals field goal made it 20-12 with less than 10 minutes to play, Rudolph put the game out of reach with a five-yard touchdown pass to Gainwell with 3:40 left. The Steelers' defense recorded its second touchdown of the day moments later when defensive back James Pierre scooped up a fumble and took it 34 yards to the house. 

Rudolph said that Rodgers notified him at halftime that he would be leading the Steelers' offense at the start of the second half. When asked to assess his performance, Rudolph pointed to the end result. 

"We won, and that's the only objective," he said. "I thought I settled down a little bit. I had a couple errant ones early, but just tried to get it to out to our guys. [The Bengals] played a lot of soft, one-high zone, and so we were letting a whole lot of stuff go over the middle. ... I was really proud of the way the guys. We had a couple bad penalties that backed us up, and we overcame it and got some points on the board." 

With the win, Pittsburgh improved to 6-4 on the season while retaining its lead over second-place Baltimore in the AFC North standings. This Sunday, they will try to win in a city that they haven't won in since 1995. In fact, the Steelers have a lifetime record of just 1-6 in the Windy City. 

Rodgers' career against the Bears is much better. Including the playoffs, Rodgers has a 25-5 record against the Bears, a mark that inspired Rodgers to yell "I own you!" at Bears fans following a touchdown during win at Chicago during the 2021 season. 

Rodgers is surely hoping to get another chance to play his former rival in what could be the final season of his future Hall of Fame career.