After three games, the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t looked as dominant as they hoped. Before the season began, players spoke about how they felt confident that the team could compete for a Super Bowl. However, they haven’t looked close to being contenders yet. Despite their struggles, Aaron Rodgers isn’t panicking yet, according to his former Green Bay Packers teammate Marcedes Lewis.
“He’s enjoying it,” Lewis said Monday on The Arena podcast. “He said, as far as the competition, they’re competing on both sides of the ball. That’s a good part about it. He feels that, as long as they stay focused and can cut the small mistakes down, they’ll be fine.”
Rodgers’ calm demeanor has been evident throughout his career. His teams have had rough starts in the past. Famously, after the Packers started out 1-2 in 2014, Rodgers told reporters to “R-E-L-A-X.” He wasn’t overreacting, and his words were proven right. The Packers finished the year 12-4, making the NFC championship game.
He expressed a similar sentiment last week after the Steelers lost to the Seattle Seahawks. Rodgers wants to let everyone know that the sky isn’t falling just because the Steelers lost a game.
There are reasons to be concerned about the Steelers. The biggest worry is their defense. That unit has looked awful to open this year. They’ve gotten battered in each of their first three games. However, they look like they’ve steadily improved each week.
That isn’t the only part of their team that’s continued to look better. The Steelers’ offensive line also did a better job of pass blocking in Week 3.
The Steelers added a lot of new pieces to their team this offseason, so it isn’t surprising that they need some time to jell. They’re still 2-1, though, with several winnable games in front of them.
We’ll see if Rodgers’ calmness remains as the season progresses. They’ve weathered this early storm, squeaking out some tough wins. While they’ll need to improve if they want to compete for a Super Bowl, it’s too early to throw the towel in on them.
