The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Three years later, that was the case between Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
It wasn’t at Lambeau Field and it wasn’t Rodgers in the Green and Yellow of the Green Bay Packers, but he still tried to pull a fast one on the Steelers and Tomlin. That led to a smirk and a nod from Tomlin Sunday night after a quick timeout in the Steelers’ 37-15 win on Sunday Night Football.
In the fourth quarter, Rodgers again tried to catch the Steelers with 12 men on the field, much like he tried to do in 2021. Once again, Tomlin came through with the timeout, avoiding the penalty and a potential deep shot from Rodgers on the free play.
For Rodgers, who appeared on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday for his weekly appearance, the moment was the exact same thing that occurred in 2021 and led to a viral moment then. While the moment came in a loss for Rodgers, one that was rather frustrating for him, a few days removed from the loss Rodgers gave kudos for Tomlin being prepared and understanding the moment once again, avoiding the penalty and potential free play.
“Well, I think it’s on their mind for sure. The substitution patterns have definitely changed in our games. Just a simple point at the line of scrimmage stops [the] substitution coach from bringing guys on the field. So that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re just trying to get him to think about. That moment between Coach Tomlin and I was the exact same thing that happened in 2021 when we played them at home,” Rodgers said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “You remember we had ’em and he called a late time timeout, which was just like the other night. And he looked over and did the same thing, kind of smirked and shook his head like, ‘No, no, no, you’re not getting us. You’re not getting us today.’
“So, kudos to him for being on that. There’s a lot of times where a guy’s running off the field and a coach will risk whether or not that guy’s gonna get off the field or not.”
Having been around the game a long time and now in his 18th season as head coach of the Steelers, Tomlin has seen and done it all. He’s coached against Rodgers quite a few times, too, so he knows his tendencies and what he tries to do, especially in big spots, like trying to catch defenses substituting, much like he tried again on Sunday night against the Steelers.
There was Tomlin though, knowing what Rodgers was trying to accomplish and putting the kibosh on it immediately. That wry smile and head nod to Rodgers was classic Tomlin and is very similar to the moment the two shared in 2021.
Here’s that moment.
The two have always had great respect and admiration for each other. While the matchup between Tomlin and Rodgers was new in the sense that Rodgers wasn’t with the Packers anymore, that respect and admiration remains.
It was cool to see that moment all over again three years later. It might be the last time we get to see that type of in-game moment between Rodgers and Tomlin, too.
