Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, but not everyone loves him. There’s a narrative that Rodgers is difficult to deal with. However, that hasn’t held up during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rodgers’ teammates have only had nice things to say about him. Still, some people question how Rodgers is as a teammate, pointing to times on the field when he’s yelling at teammates for making mistakes. Darnell Washington explained that Rodgers’ fiery moments don’t impact the team too much, though.

“He’s the leader of our offense,” Washington said recently on Jordan Schultz’s podcast. “He’s the heartbeat of it. Whatever he says, it is what it is. At the end of the day, we know what we did wrong. We’ll have dialogue within ourselves.

“For example, when I gave up my sack, o-line, they was there to pick me up, ‘You good. Move on to the next play. I gave up sacks before.’ Little words of encouragement. I feel like, all that, they just try to help you move on, next play. At the end of the day, whatever the quarterback says, it is what it is. Gotta move on. Gotta protect him, keep him clean.”

That’s the right way to look at it. There’s no point in players fighting with Rodgers on the field. That’s only going to create more drama. You could argue that Rodgers should control his emotions a little better, but football is an emotional sport.

That’s likely especially true for Rodgers, who wants to win more than anything else and is near the end of his career. He considered retiring after the 2024 season. However, he returned because he wants one last chance to compete for a Super Bowl. That probably adds to his frustration when things go wrong.

Also, it’s not like Rodgers doesn’t criticize himself, too. He’s owned up to his mistakes in the past. Yes, Rodgers holds his teammates to a high standard, but he also holds himself just as accountable.

Rodgers praises players when they make plays, too. He’s not only negative. There are plenty of examples of him pointing to how hard teammates work and how that’s paid off on the field.

Rodgers has helped the Steelers secure a playoff spot. If he helps them win a postseason game for the first time in almost 10 years, then his teammates will probably care even less about him yelling at them. Winning tends to fix everything.