Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to throw some of his receivers under the bus after Sunday’s 26-7 loss against the Buffalo Bills when asked how he could get on the same page as them.
“When there’s film sessions, everybody shows up, and when I check to a route, you do the right route,” he told reporters.
He then specifically noted a play involving tight end Jonnu Smith, and another one in which he missed a pass himself.
“Like Jonnu and I just weren’t on the same page. I checked to his in-breaker, and he ran an out-breaker,” he said. “Jonnu is a true professional. I’m sure he’s sick about that. I threw a ball I thought was going to get hit by the wind, and it was four yards over Roman [Wilson]. So that’s a s–tty throw. I’ve got to make that throw. We have our meetings every week. We have other opportunities outside of the facility. Look forward to seeing all the boys there.”
Rodgers publicly critiquing teammates isn’t new. Last year with the New York Jets he publicly called out wideout Mike Williams for running the wrong route after throwing a late-game interception.
As for the Steelers, the team is trending in a rough direction. Pittsburgh has now lost five of its last seven games and the passing game has been downright dreadful. The Steelers haven’t exceeded 200 passing yards in four straight games and haven’t reached the 250-yard mark through the air once this season.
Rodgers very much looks like a 41-year-old quarterback who is past his prime at this point, throwing for 2,086 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season while taking 20 sacks and completing 65.2 percent of his passes. Granted, Pittsburgh hasn’t surrounded him with many weapons and he was playing through three fractures in his left hand on Sunday (and a gashed nose suffered during the game as well).
But there is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to Pittsburgh’s passing game, and Rodgers has earned his share.