With division rival Baltimore Ravens currently in a bye week, the opportunity was there for the Pittsburgh Steelers to take sole possession of the AFC North lead. Of course, what awaited them was a matchup against the 7-4 Buffalo Bills, so it’s not like anything was going to be easy. But they were in front of their home crowd at Acrisure Stadium, which should at least give them a little bit of a boost.
Spoiler alert: that did not help, not even for a little bit.
The Steelers ended up being embarrassed and laughed off their home field by the Bills, 26-7, as boos rained down from the stands. Everyone thought that the Steelers would be able to build off of their 7-0 lead in the second period after scoring the first touchdown of the game courtesy of a one-yard push from Jaylen Warren. But they capitulated — with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers putting up one of the worst performances of his Hall of Fame career.
Rodgers threw just 117 yards and completed less than half of his passes (10-21), and to make matters worse, he was even on the receiving end of a sack. The Steelers’ passing game was discombobulated all game long, and even the QB had to admit that their team’s supporters had every right to be upset about the performance they put together.
“It’s part of it. They pay money for a ticket, so they have the right — good, bad or indifferent — to say what they want. I totally understand the frustration. I’ve been booed on offense, even in Green Bay over the years. That was a boo-worthy performance,” Rodgers admitted, via Chris Adamski of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
All the Steelers could do now is move forward and learn that nothing is going to be given — especially when there are plenty of teams jockeying for a postseason spot.
Injury may be bothering Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers
For stretches this season, Rodgers has looked almost ageless, reminiscent of his form back when he was in his heyday with the Green Bay Packers. But then Rodgers suffered a fracture on his non-throwing arm and had to miss the Steelers’ Week 12 clash against the Chicago Bears — a 31-28 defeat in which backup Mason Rudolph started.
Rodgers re-assumed his starting spot on Sunday, but it’s clear that he was not yet 100 percent. Perhaps it might be best for the Steelers to let him rest and have him share duties with Rudolph, especially when he struggled the way he did against the Bills.
