Southampton arguably had the better chances, but were never guaranteed victory with just Peter Madsen's 61st minute effort to show for their first-half dominance.
Poland striker Grzegorz Rasiak was the major threat for the Saints and could have scored a couple with a flurry of chances he carved out early on.
Rasiak thumped the underside of the bar and threatened almost every time the ball was at his feet or near his head. He sent one volley on the turn whistling just wide, but then headed straight at home keeper Ross Turnbull.
But Gareth Taylor spurned a golden opportunity for the hosts when he was put in the clear by Kenny Lunt in the 16th minute, but as defenders waited for a non-existent flag call, the striker, on loan from Nottingham Forest, shot straight at Paul Smith before lifting the rebound well over from just five yards out.
Southampton offered the sharper edge when they went forward and Dexter Blackstock's thumped header from a corner was cleared off the line by Lee Bell.
Taylor again might have done better when he was played through by outstanding Algerian defender Madjid Bougherra at the start of the second half but drove his effort over.
Then it seemed Crewe would pay for that when Madsen skipped past a defender to latch on to Rasiak's pass before neatly tucking the ball into the far corner.
Rodgers wasted the chance to level almost immediately when, after haring clear down the left, he buried his shot straight at Smith from a tight angle when he might have pulled the ball back into the box.
But the introduction of David Vaughan lifted Crewe and the Wales international forced Smith to go down at his near post to save a stinging shot.
Then when Taylor's flick-on released Rodgers, the former Shrewsbury ace cracked a low shot from the right of the box past Smith for the equaliser.
It triggered a frantic finale in which ex-Alex midfielder Jermaine Wright needed to clear Taylor's header from a corner off the line and Steve Foster glided a header from a Lunt free-kick just a yard past the post.