Steelers Now
BALTIMORE — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers sent a blunt message to those calling for Mike Tomlin’s firing after Sunday’s 27-22 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Tomlin received a ton of flak from the media and the fanbase this week after the embarrassing 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13 at Acrisure Stadium. Fans were so fed up that “Fire Tomlin” chants erupted during the third quarter.
“It means maybe you guys [the media] will shut the hell up for a week,” Rodgers said when asked what Sunday’s win means, one week after fans were chanting to “Fire Tomlin.”
Steelers legends Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison both criticized Tomlin this week, questioning if he is still the right person to be the Steelers’ head coach. Roethlisberger even made headlines with mentioning Tomlin as a possible candidate for the vacant Penn State head coach job.
All of the outside noise that filled the airwaves and internet this week did not faze the Steelers.
“We knew not to pay any attention to any of that outside noise,” Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf said. “I’ve said this before; ‘Coach T’ [Head coach Mike Tomlin] is a great leader for us, and he’s done nothing but take the bullets for us. Even when we were high or when we were low, every day he’s steady [and] always motivated us to play our best ball. That’s what he did last week. Like I said, we knew what was at stake, first place in this heated rivalry, and the better team came out on top.”
Linebacker Patrick Queen knows the ebb and flows of the NFL. It’s a week to week league. That’s why the Steelers never panicked after the deflating Buffalo loss.
“I mean at the end of the day, that’s the media. Media is going to do stuff like that. Any guy in the building could care less; it’s a brotherhood; it’s a family. We’ve got each other’s backs. All we care about is what’s in the building,” Queen said. “All the stuff outside we could care less about. We are just trying to do what’s best for us and our team. So just being able to get a win like this right now, it’s going to create momentum. I think at the end of the day, we all understand how everything went this week, so we need to repeat that this week.”
Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith is glad they have Tomlin leading the way as the team enters the final four weeks of the regular season.
“It is huge. We believe and trust the men and ladies in this locker room. We know we have a good team in the locker room,” Highsmith said. “We have to continue to build, and everyone trusts each other. We need to close out these last few weeks, and like I said, stack a win and fight.”
Alan Saunders and Brenden Howe provided reporting from Baltimore.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: [Aaron Rodgers...
