It’s getting late early for Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only is the on-field production lacking, but there are now questions about the off-field cohesiveness, particularly on the offense.
That’s almost solely thanks to Rodgers.
The four-time NFL MVP raised some eyebrows following a Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills when he called out his receiving corps. According to Rodgers, not everyone is on the same page, and that stems from varying levels of buy-in during the week.
Regardless of whether Rodgers’ point is warranted, ex-NFL QB and NBC Sports contributor Chris Simms wonders if airing it all out publicly is a misstep from the Steelers quarterback.
“To me, it’s the last thing they need right now,” Simms said on “PFT Live” with Mike Florio. “We’ve got enough questioning them on the football field and how (expletive) they look there. Now we’re gonna go into everything with Pittsburgh, and they’ve opened up Pandora’s box.”
Chris Simms Criticizes Aaron Rodgers’ Decision to Call Out Steelers
Both Simms and Florio compared the situation to what happened with Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa earlier in the season. After a Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Tagavoiloa publicly called out his teammates for missing or showing up late to players-only meetings.
The comments went over so poorly that the QB backtracked just a few days later and publicly apologized for bringing it up. Both Florio and Simms agreed the words “I’m sorry” aren’t likely to come out of Rodgers’ mouth this week. And if he doesn’t, that’s going to let the story breathe.
“If Rodgers is not going to apologize, it’s going to be even more ‘Who’s he talking about?'” Florio pointed out. “So, yeah, this is not good. You’re right: It’s the last thing they need.”
Rodgers did acknowledge he needs to play better moving forward. His insistence on playing with multiple fractures in his non-throwing wrist probably went over well in the locker room, but Rodgers completed just 10 of 21 passes for 117 yards against the Bills.
Simms still believes the buck should stop with Rodgers, who tends to show up his teammates on the field, too.
“I don’t like some of his antics on the field,” Simms added. “I don’t think it speaks to leadership. He loves to yell at everybody else. He never yells at himself.
” … There’s no anger shown when he makes a mistake, but when someone doesn’t make the right cut at an acute angle the way he wants, then he’s pissed as hell. And yeah, I think it’s starting to unravel there in Pittsburgh.”
Can Aaron Rodgers, Steelers Turn Things Around in Time?
Pittsburgh’s final push for the playoffs begins in earnest this week in Baltimore. It’s the first of two games between the AFC North rivals over the final five weeks of the season, with the two clubs tied at 6-6 atop the division. Pittsburgh’s 4-1 start feels like forever ago, and their odds to make the playoffs are down to 57%, per PlayoffStatus.com.
A loss in Week 14 would put a significant dent into those chances.
“I don’t have much hope for it,” Simms said. ” … Maybe they can muster up the courage here, but I certainly don’t see any way it happens, and yeah, I don’t think that was necessary. With ‘Fire Mike Tomlin’ going on in the stands, it wasn’t the time to bring that.”
Ex-NFL QB Rips Aaron Rodgers for Opening ‘Pandora’s Box’ With Latest Comments