The Pittsburgh Steelers took a gamble when they signed Aaron Rodgers as a free agent in the offseason.

Rodgers was 41 years old and coming off a solid season with the woeful New York Jets, throwing 28 touchdown passes for a team that went 5-12. Yet there was reason to wonder how much the four-time NFL MVP had left.

While Rodgers hasn't amassed eye-popping statistics this season, the Steelers are 3-1 and in first place in the AFC Central. He is demonstrating that he remains an effective NFL quarterback.

Rodgers has completed 68.5 percent of his 105 passes, which is better than his career mark of 65.2 percent over 21 seasons. It is that accuracy that has impressed Steelers quarterback coach Tom Arth more than Rodgers' 786 yards and eight touchdown passes.

"When you're evaluating a quarterback, his ability to put the ball in the proper location to allow receivers to run through catches, to throw receivers open is important," said Arth, formerly the head coach at the University of Akron. "I think the one thing about the NFL that I learned really early, there's no such thing as 'more open' in the NFL. Either you are or you aren't, and that just speaks to the ball placement piece.

"Whether that's a back shoulder throw or just understanding defenders' hips and shoulders and vision and things like that. That's something that Aaron does extraordinarily well. And then to be able to put the ball on a crossing route or a breaking route and to be able to put it on his up-field shoulder and allow him to run through it and not break stride."

That is what happened in the Steelers' previous game when Rodgers threw a short pass to wide receiver DK Metcalf, who turned it into an 80-yard touchdown. That played proved pivotal as the Steelers took a 24-6 lead before hanging on for a 24-21 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 28 in Dublin.

"If that ball's behind (Metcalf) at all, it may not be an 80-yard touchdown, maybe a first down," Arth said. "So, ball placement accuracy is everything."