The Pittsburgh Steelers escaped Week 1 with a win. However, Week 2 looked much different, and now Aaron Rodgers is being warned that another poor offensive performance could make the early hole much harder to climb out of.
Pittsburgh enters Sunday’s AFC North matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals at 1-1 after scoring only three points in a 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots. The Steelers have produced 23 points through two games, while Rodgers has yet to find anything resembling a consistent rhythm in Mike McCarthy’s offense.
That was enough for one analyst to push the panic meter close to the top.
Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Gets 9/10 Panic Warning
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon placed Rodgers among the NFL quarterbacks facing the most pressure entering Week 3 and gave Pittsburgh’s situation a 9-out-of-10 panic level.
Gagnon pointed to several ugly early numbers. Rodgers is the league’s fourth-lowest-rated passer, has completed only 3 of 26 deep attempts and is 5-for-19 on third-down throws.
“The Solution: Strip out the playbook clutter. It won’t be easy, but Rodgers and Mike McCarthy have to show that the modern game hasn’t passed them by. They’ll have to make major adjustments to take the pressure off Rodgers in the pocket. Either that or the organization might have to pivot in a major way,” Gagnon wrote.
Then came the warning tied directly to Cincinnati.
“Panic Level: 9/10 — Rodgers and the offense can’t afford another dud this weekend against Cincinnati. They’re digging an early hole that will be hard to climb out of as the schedule gets tougher in November and December.”
The concern isn’t difficult to understand after Pittsburgh’s first two games.
Rodgers completed 24 of 40 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown in the 20-13 Week 1 win over Atlanta. He followed that by going 23-of-39 for 187 yards with no touchdowns and an interception against New England.
Pittsburgh failed to reach 300 total yards in either game and has converted only six of 24 third downs.
Aaron Rodgers, Steelers Face Bigger Test Against Bengals
Rodgers acknowledged after the Patriots loss that Pittsburgh never found any offensive flow.
“I’ve got to look at the film, but we just didn’t get into a rhythm. We had too many three-and-outs again,” Rodgers said, per Steelers.com’s Brian Batko. “I don’t feel like there was anybody who had an exceptional game out there. We all played below our standard.”
Cincinnati gives Pittsburgh little room for another slow start.
The Bengals enter Sunday 2-0 after beating Cleveland and Houston. Their defense held the Texans to six points in Week 2 and limited Houston’s running backs to 18 yards on 14 carries.
That matters for a Steelers offense that hasn’t been able to lean on one area when the passing game stalls. Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle have split the rushing workload, while DK Metcalf has eight catches for 67 yards on 19 targets.
Cincinnati also consistently pressured C.J. Stroud last week, presenting the type of problem Pittsburgh struggled to answer in New England.
McCarthy admitted after that loss that the offense “didn’t answer the bell” against the Patriots’ pressure looks.
Rodgers and Pittsburgh won’t have long to figure it out. After Cincinnati, the Steelers face Cleveland on a short week Thursday night.
A 1-2 start with an AFC North loss would make the early-season offensive problems feel much more urgent.
Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Gets ‘Panic’ Warning Ahead of Bengals Game