This is a big one for the 4-1-1 Green Bay Packers, to say the least. From a pure football and schedule standpoint, a win here would be huge. The Packers are currently on top of the NFC standings, but there's a tough race developing behind them. 

Five teams are behind the Pack boasting a 5-2 record heading into Week 8. That list includes the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the back-to-back NFC champion Detroit Lions, as well as other rivals like the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks.

So yeah, Green Bay needs to keep winning.

Take away the impact of this game on the 2025 season, and it's still a massive contest. Not only are 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers, a good team, on the other sideline, but it's a "Sunday Night Football" contest on the road.

Oh, and Aaron Rodgers is the Steelers' quarterback. That's, kind of a big deal. Perhaps we should have led with that.

It's going to be emotional. It's going to be strange. It's very likely going to be a boatrace of a game between Rodgers and the young quarterback he once mentored, Jordan Love.

No matter what the storylines surrounding this game are, though, it's one the Packers need to get a win in.

As such, these three players need to step up and play a big role.

Jordan Love needs to start writing his history book with the Green Bay Packers

The quarterback on the other sideline, Rodgers, is a future Hall of Famer. He won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers and also brought home four NFL MVP awards. Heck, just earlier this week he said he'll eventually retire a Packer.

Rodgers' connection to Green Bay is all everyone has talked about in the lead up to this game, but Love has a chance to start creating his own legacy with the Packers.

Beating Rodgers on Sunday Night with the football world watching would be a huge moment for Love. Not even considering that, though, the Packers will need him to play well to just get a win.

 This very well could become a shootout, and the Packers are going to need Love to go toe-to-toe with his old teammate.

Micah Parsons can neutralize Aaron Rodgers 

Rodgers is a superstar, and even at nearly 42 years old, he still has it. Watch any highlight from this season and it's clear that the old man can still sling the football.

The Packers have a superstar of their own, though, and that's Micah Parsons. 

Parsons is fresh off a three sack game against the Arizona Cardinals and you know he's hungry for more. He can't expect Pittsburgh to block him with just one player in this game, but that's also going to open up opportunities for players like Rashan Gary, Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper.

If all Parsons does in this game is create chances for the aformentioned pass-rushers, he'll have done his job.

Rodgers no longer has what it takes to run away from a player like Parsons, though, so he absolutely needs to get after the former Packer.

Christian Watson can make a huge impact in his return to action

Christian Watson is back. He went down in Week 18 of the 2024 season with a torn ACL, but he committed to an intense rehab regimen and has been activated ahead of this game against the Steelers.

One imagines head coach Matt LaFleur will have Watson on a bit of a pitch count in this one as he gets his "sea legs" back under him, but even Watson as a decoy can have a huge impact on Green Bay's offense.

He's big, fast and the ultimate deep-threat when he's healthy. The Steelers need to respect just the presence of Watson. If he can get involved in the game, though, he could absolutely blow it wide open for the Packers.