PITTSBURGH — After completing fewer than 50% of his pass attempts in Sunday’s 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills, quarterback Aaron Rodgers suggested two simple fixes to getting on the same page with his wide receivers with just five weeks left in the regular season.
“When there’s film sessions, everybody shows up, and when I check to a route, you do the right route,” Rodgers said. “… We have our meetings every week. We have other opportunities outside of the facility, and [I] look forward to seeing all the boys there.”
Rodgers, playing with a black cast to protect his fractured left wrist, completed just 10 of 21 attempts for 117 yards, marking his third-lowest total in any game where he threw at least 20 passes. His 10 completions were also his fewest in any game with 20 pass attempts. The quarterback, who turns 42 on Tuesday, was also strip-sacked on the first play of the third quarter as he bought time in the pocket waiting for a receiver to get open.
“I felt good enough to be out there, just not ready to take a snap under center, hopefully next week for that,” he said. “Disappointed in my performance, disappointed in the offensive performance and got to flush it.”
Rodgers and his receivers have struggled to connect on deep and midrange passes throughout the season, and Sunday was no different. On third-and-4 in the first quarter, Rodgers tried to hit second-year receiver Roman Wilson on a sideline go route, but the quarterback overshot his target and the ball bounced to the turf incomplete.
“I threw a ball I thought was going to get hit by the wind, and it was 4 yards over Roman, so that’s a s—ty throw,” Rodgers said. “I got to make that throw.”
Later, in the fourth quarter, Rodgers tried to connect with tight end Jonnu Smith in the end zone. Smith, though, ran outside as Rodgers threw inside. Again, the ball bounced incomplete.
“Jonnu and I just weren’t on the same page,” Rodgers said. “I checked to his in-breaker, and he ran an out-breaker. Jonnu is a true professional, so I’m sure he’s sick about that.”
Rodgers completed just 2 of 6 attempts of 10 yards or more, and he finished averaging 4.8 air yards per attempt as the offense stretched the field more in the fourth quarter. At one point in the third, though, Rodgers was averaging negative-0.8 air yards per completion, according to ESPN Research, as five of his six completions were caught at or behind the line of scrimmage.
The conservative passing attack frustrated fans throughout the day, and they responded by raining boos — including when Rodgers’ name was announced as he reentered the game a series after he got a cut on his nose taped up after Joey Bosa‘s strip-sack. Rodgers said their restlessness made sense.
“I totally understand the frustration,” said Rodgers, who added that he hopes his nose isn’t broken. “I’ve been booed on offense, even in Green Bay over the years.
“That was a boo-worthy performance.”
Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III echoed his quarterback’s sentiments after the offense put up just 166 yards, marking the third-lowest total in coach Mike Tomlin’s tenure.
“Yeah, we ain’t meeting the standard,” Austin said about the crowd’s frustration. “This team has a standard that when it takes the field, fans are expecting to see a certain thing, and it’s our duty to provide that. It’s as simple as that. As fans, they come here to cheer us on, but we aren’t giving them anything to cheer about.”
By the fourth quarter, the fans targeted their frustration at the coach, chanting “Fire Tomlin” so loudly it was picked up on the CBS broadcast.
“Man, I share their frustration tonight,” Tomlin said with resignation. “We didn’t do enough, and that’s just the reality of it.
“… I know how restless and frustrated I was, and so I assume they were in the same state we were in.”
Despite the team’s shortcomings and fan unrest, Rodgers voiced his support for Tomlin, whose historic streak of nearly two decades without a losing season is in jeopardy as the Steelers dropped to 6-6.
“I believe in the coaching staff,” Rodgers said. “I believe in Mike Tomlin. That’s why I came here. Players need to take accountability, myself included, and I will, and I will continue to. I got to play better, but there’s 11 starters on offense, 11 on defense plus with the personnel groupings that we run.
“We’re going to have a Monday-to-Saturday that we can be really proud of, our best Monday-to-Saturday, and go out and play our best game and take control of the division.”
Rodgers’ desire for a strong week of preparation comes after a week of subpar work, according to the quarterback.
“I’m not sure if it was cold weather or what it was, but it wasn’t our best week of practice,” Rodgers said. “That doesn’t always translate to a negative performance. … We got to practice in the elements better, and the execution again just wasn’t where it was.
“A lot of it’s just the energy of practice and the tempo. We talked about it, and I thought Friday was better, but I thought Thursday wasn’t a great tempo execution practice for us on offense.”
Edge rusher T.J. Watt said that feeling extended to the defense as he thought his unit came out “flat” Sunday, too, giving up 249 rushing yards. That marked the most rushing yards accumulated by an opponent in Pittsburgh since the Bills rushed for 310 on Sept. 28, 1975, at Three Rivers Stadium, according to ESPN Research. O.J. Simpson led Buffalo with 227 rushing yards that day.
“We need to find ways to be able to make plays,” Watt said. “And I mean I’ve never seen a team run the same play as much as they ran it tonight and have as much success as they had. I’m out of words for it.”
Watt added: “We talk about the talent that we have, we talk about everything that we have, but right now, we don’t have a kick-ass defensive group, and that’s all that I can speak on.”
