In Monday’s “First Call,” we examine the prospect of an Aaron Rodgers reboot in Pittsburgh in 2026-27.

We look at the odds for next week’s games in the NFL Divisional Round. George Pickens feels like he got snubbed in All-Pro voting.

And the Patriots left the Chargers baffled Sunday night. Now they await either the Steelers or Texans next week.

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Rodgers return?

Over the weekend, NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport said the Steelers are open to the idea of Aaron Rodgers returning for the 2026-27 season.

“If Rodgers did want to return for next season, the Steelers have really enjoyed the experience and would be more than open to it,” Rapoport said. “They are just hoping to get an answer sooner than later, like they did last offseason.”

Unfortunately, the Steelers had to wait for Rodgers to make up his mind until June before this season began. The difference is that this time, the club may have to move on from Rodgers if he doesn’t want to make a decision before then, with the free agency, trade season and the draft rolling around in March and April.

Forgetting the Steelers’ part of the equation, if Rodgers truly wants to come back, he’d be best served committing to that as early as possible this offseason before the front office potentially talks itself into a rookie being the next big thing (as it did with Kenny Pickett) or that it could get by with another recycled castoff as it has in the past with Justin Fields, Mitch Trubisky and Russell Wilson.

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Pickens pouting

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens was named a second-team All-Pro on Saturday.

That wasn’t good enough for him, though. The ex-Steeler sent out an Instagram story suggesting that he feels shortchanged because others were in front of him on the first team.

The first-teamers were Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams), Ja’Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle Seahawks).

If Pickens has a complaint with someone being voted ahead of him, it’s only with Chase. Smith-Njigba (1,793) and Nacua (1,715) had more yards than Pickens (1,429). They were the top three receivers in those categories, while Chase was fourth.

Nacua and JSN both had 10 TDs, while Pickens had nine and Chase had eight. However, Pickens had only 93 catches. The other three all had between 119 and 129.

Pickens had the best average per catch of the group at 15.4.

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More sports

• Tim Benz: Steelers’ defense must meet standard set by Texans
• Madden Monday: ‘Not that optimistic’ about Steelers’ chances to upset Houston
• Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers’ QB upgrade to Aaron Rodgers has been minimal … so far
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Scratching their heads

The winner of Steelers-Texans on Monday night will go to New England for the next round of the playoffs.

Whoever takes on that task will have to deal with a defense that just shut down the Los Angeles Chargers, 16-3, in Round 1 on Monday night.

Ex-Steeler Robert Spillane said Patriots defensive play caller Zak Kuhr left the Chargers guessing throughout the night.

“Zak has been great all year,” Spillane said. “He keeps the dial spinning. He keeps offenses guessing. All year he’s been doing that.”

The Chargers had only 207 yards in total offense. Quarterback Justin Herbert was sacked six times. L.A. was 2 for 13 on conversion downs.

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Odds are in

The Steelers remain 3-point underdogs to the Texans for Monday night’s game at Acrisure Stadium. The over/under is at 38.

Buffalo is a 2-point road favorite at Denver with a 47-point over/under. That’s a Saturday game.

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The other Saturday game is San Francisco as a 7.5-point underdog at Seattle. The over-under there is 45.5.

On Sunday, Chicago is hosting Los Angeles. The Bears are a 4-point home underdog against the Rams. That’s the highest over-under of the weekend at 51.

The game in Foxborough will be a Sunday kickoff.