Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Without a doubt, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a bad night at the office in Sunday night’s 25-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Rodgers even put the blame on himself for the loss.
It was by far his worst game of the season, completing 16 of 31 passes (51.6%) for 161 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 50.6.
Despite the dreadful game, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not worried about the four-time NFL MVP.
“I’m not going to chalk it up to an ‘off’ night, but there are no long-term concerns,” Tomlin said during his weekly Tuesday press conference. “Sunday night was what it was, but I have no long-term reservations about his ability to play the position and play the position at a high level.”
Rodgers’ 51.6 completion percentage was his worst since 2020 and his 50.6 passer rating was the fifth-worst in a full game in his career. He also got sacked three times, including one for a safety in the first quarter after holding onto the ball for too long.
“A lot of stuff wasn’t working. We were bad on third down. I was just a little bit off,” Rodgers said after the game. “I missed DK early, could have been a big play. A little high to Jonnu. Didn’t run the ball super effectively the first half. I missed, obviously, some throws, for sure. And then we weren’t getting guys open and just put it all together the times the guys were open. I missed some throws I usually make.”
The Steelers were an abysmal 2 of 11 on third down against the Chargers.
“Plastering our guys,” Rodgers said when asked what the Chargers did to stymie the Steelers’ offense on third down.
Despite the loss, the Steelers remain in first place in the AFC North at 5-4. The Baltimore Ravens, who are on a three-game winning streak, are on their heels at 4-5.
The 3-6 Cincinnati Bengals face the Steelers on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. Cincinnati won the first meeting, 33-31, at Paul Brown Stadium on Oct. 16.
“This is part of the season. There’s ebbs and flows, ups and downs. We can’t ride the wave,” Rodgers said. “I felt like our energy, it starts with me, it wasn’t great on offense. We were struggling a little bit, couldn’t get a play to get going. ‘We just get a first down, we usually score on that drive.’ We had so many three and outs and we hurt ourselves with a couple penalties.
“I didn’t play very good at all. I have got to play better. We have four division games left to play. It’s a long season and it’s a good opponent and we just didn’t play very good.”
Rodgers will speak with the media on Wednesday.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Tomlin Backs Rodgers after Dreadful Night in L.A.: ‘There Are No Long-Term Concerns’
