Aaron Rodgers, in vintage form, takes shots at Saints on the field and the NFL off it

Aaron Rodgers still has his moments. They're moments now, not drives and certainly not games, but they're enough to stay in yet another playoff hunt for one more year.

Every once in a while, Rodgers gives us reason to remember that he's more than just the (pick your side) surly/clever, smug/knowledgeable conspiracy theorist/truth teller that he's positioned himself as over the past few years. It doesn't happen much anymore, but every once in a while, Rodgers rears back, slings a moon-scraper of a pass, and reminds us that, yes, he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer no matter how infuriating he is behind a mic.

That throwback throw came in the course of Pittsburgh's win over New Orleans on Sunday in France , a game mostly notable for being as unappetizing as a nine-day-old baguette. How bad was Pittsburgh's 16-10 victory? Put it this way: until he knelt down twice to end the game, Rodgers had more yards rushing than any Saint — and at that point, Rodgers had all of 8 yards rushing.

Rodgers effectively iced the game with a scramble — yes, really — late in the fourth quarter when the black-and-gold sea parted and he decided to go yolo into a wide-open French meadow:

The Steelers exulted on the sideline, congratulating Rodgers as if he'd just thrown another touchdown pass. He didn't miss the "backhanded compliment," as he put it, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

"I'm a lot more reticent to run these days. I'm just not very fast anymore," Rodgers smiled after the game. "Sometimes you gotta suck it up and make a play for your guys, and I think because I am so much less athletic than I used to be, it actually fires up [the team]."

Rodgers set a more notable mark in the course of the game. That pass to DK Metcalf set up a touchdown pass to Darnell Washington that marked Rodgers' 540th career passing touchdown, one more than Peyton Manning. Only Drew Brees and Tom Brady are ahead of Rodgers, but it's unlikely he'll catch them; Brees is 31 touchdowns ahead.

Still, hitting that mark — and delivering that beauty of a 51-yarder — is a reminder of just how much Aaron Rodgers has done in this league. Rodgers is in his sunset days in the NFL, with 10 regular-season games left and, perhaps, one last playoff run. Rodgers' off-field matters — the bombs he drops during "Pat McAfee" appearances, the will-he-or-won't-he retirement guessing games, the perpetual squabbles with his coaches — overshadow his on-field performance. But those moments Sunday were a reminder that maybe, just maybe, he's got a couple more gems left to reveal.

And speaking of off-field Rodgers, after the game, he busted out more vintage material, going all just-asking-questions on the NFL's international game strategy. In contrast — of course — to the usual narrative that the NFL has too many international games, Rodgers endorsed the international slate, and wished the NFL would have gone further to push American football into international markets.

Rodgers said he'd approved of the idea to send more NFL teams to international destinations as far back as the early 2010s. Instead, "the owners wanted to push for 17 games for the extra revenue, and because they care so much about player safety," he deadpanned.

"I wish there was a mandate from the league — they would have to open up their pocketbooks, maybe [they're] a little tight on money and stuff — but I think they should mandate every team coming over Sunday or Monday to really enjoy the culture and the place you're going. You can do events in those cities and outreach stuff and community work," he said, "but they won't, because they're a little tight."

That's the kind of thing you say when you have no fear whatsoever of retribution from the commissioner's office because you know you'll be out the door and out from under the NFL umbrella no later than Valentine's Day.

Back to the football field. Rodgers and Pittsburgh have the chance to take over sole possession of first place in the division in just one week when Cleveland comes to town. The rest of the season offers up the standard run through the division, plus games against Philadelphia, Carolina, Houston and Tennessee. Tough matches against Jacksonville and Denver loom, but that's a November-December problem.

For now, Rodgers and the Steelers are plodding their way toward one more postseason. They're not speedy, they're not pretty, but they're still moving forward. And for Rodgers, in his one last ride, that's more than enough.