Roman Wilson’s drop and Aaron Rodgers’ record: why one interception mattered

Roman Wilson’s dropped pass in Pittsburgh’s September 27 win over Cincinnati pushed Aaron Rodgers behind Jacoby Brissett for the lowest career interception percentage entering Week 4, Steelers Depot reported on September 30. The play has become the focus of coverage about both Rodgers’ statistical standing and Wilson’s place in the Steelers’ offense.

The reported gap was just 0.01 percentage point: Brissett at 1.40 percent, Rodgers at 1.41 percent. Yet the interception came from a ball that bounced off Wilson’s hands—a reminder that the quarterback charged with a turnover is not necessarily the player who mishandled the pass.

What happened on Roman Wilson’s dropped pass?

Pittsburgh led 17–10 with 1:40 remaining in the first half when Rodgers’ pass came off Wilson’s hands and reached Bengals safety Jordan Battle. Geoff Hobson’s report for Bengals.com describes the Steelers threatening to add points before the turnover handed Cincinnati possession.

Joe Burrow then threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins with 34 seconds left before halftime, tying the score at 17. Cincinnati added a field goal after receiving the second-half kickoff to take a 20–17 lead. Those are the documented scoring consequences around the interception; any Pittsburgh points that might otherwise have followed remain hypothetical.

The mistake did not ultimately cost Pittsburgh the victory. The Steelers won 30–27, with Chris Boswell kicking the winning 33-yard field goal with 2:15 remaining, according to the Bengals’ postgame report.

How the interception affected Aaron Rodgers’ ranking

Interception percentage measures interceptions per pass attempt, expressed as a percentage. It is a rate, rather than a ranking of total career interceptions. The Wilson play counted against Rodgers’ record even though the accounts describe the ball coming off his receiver’s hands.

Steelers Depot attributed Rodgers’ move into second place to that interception. Its entering-Week-4 leaderboard put Brissett first and Rodgers second, followed by C.J. Stroud at 1.59 percent and Justin Herbert and Tom Brady at 1.76 percent.

League Leaders separately lists Brissett ahead of Rodgers, giving their rates as 1.40 percent and 1.41 percent in its explanatory text. Its career rate leaderboard requires at least 1,500 pass attempts. Brissett qualifies despite having thrown substantially fewer passes than Rodgers.

There is a small presentation trap in those numbers: League Leaders’ table rounds both quarterbacks to 1.4 percent. Its text uses two decimal places, showing the difference. The apparent tie in the table therefore does not contradict the ordering described above it.

The timing matters, too. Steelers Depot explicitly framed its figures as the standings entering Week 4. League Leaders does not specify a Week-3 cutoff, so its page supports the ordering without independently establishing exactly when the lead changed. The claim that Wilson’s drop caused that change remains attributed to Steelers Depot.

Has Roman Wilson been benched?

Still Curtain’s September 29 article argued that Wilson could be approaching a reduced role. It questioned the coaching staff’s patience and pointed to competition for playing time. It did not quote a coach announcing that Wilson had been benched or would lose his starting position.

The same article also recorded Wilson’s contribution against Cincinnati: 60 receiving yards and a touchdown on six targets. His scoring catch covered 38 yards earlier in the game. Focusing only on the interception leaves out that part of his performance.

Still Curtain described Wilson as a third-year receiver, selected in the third round of the 2024 draft, who had earned an opportunity as Pittsburgh’s starting slot receiver this season. Its criticism concerned his consistency, including other missed catching opportunities, alongside those productive plays.

That distinction matters when reading the benching headlines: the article offered an assessment of his performance and a prediction about his role. It did not establish a selection decision. Likewise, Hobson’s account of Rodgers’ immediate reaction does not establish what the coaching staff intends to do next.

Why Rodgers’ interception-rate lead can change again

Steelers Depot reported that Rodgers had thrown two interceptions through Week 3 and attributed both to dropped passes, naming Germie Bernard in Week 2 and Wilson in Week 3. That is the outlet’s assessment of responsibility; both still affected the quarterback’s interception statistics.

Further pass attempts and interceptions can change a career rate, which is why Steelers Depot described the loss of first place as potentially temporary. Its report establishes a narrowly separated pre-Week-4 ranking, rather than a permanent verdict on where Rodgers or Brissett will finish.