Two weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers needed a four-touchdown performance from Aaron Rodgers to beat the New York Jets. Not much has worked for the offense since then with 235 yards per game. It took a five-takeaway performance by the defense to get the Steelers across the finish line in a 21-14 win over the New England Patriots today.
Aaron Rodgers knows the offense must get its act together moving forward.
“We gotta get in the film room and get better,” Rodgers told CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn after the game. “We can’t have our defense save it for us like that every week. We gotta get better on offense. I gotta play better.”
The defense hasn’t exactly been great to start the season, either. The Steelers entered the week as one of the worst defenses in the league despite the lofty expectations placed on them by Mike Tomlin. That side of the ball wasn’t without its warts in Week 3 either, but the Steelers didn’t break defensively when it mattered most on the goal line with some key takeaways to keep points off the board.
“They’ve been taking it on the chin a little bit I think the last couple weeks and didn’t really appreciate it,” Rodgers said of the defense. “They came out and played incredible. We were terrible on offense after the first two drives. I didn’t have a good game, but the defense every time kept us in it. The defense won the game. This was a classic Blitzburgh performance. Hats off for those guys.”
It was a confusing game for the offense, which marched right down the field for a score on its opening drive with eight plays, including six-straight runs by Jaylen Warren. The run game was working, and DK Metcalf even got involved early with a 15-yard gain. They followed that with a 12-play, 90-yard drive for another touchdown. It looked like the offense had finally found its rhythm.
From that point forward, the Steelers had five drives in a row that quickly ended in a punt or an interception. With the Patriots sustaining long drives, they couldn’t get in a rhythm offensively. Rodgers looked lost at times, missing open receivers and making poor decisions. He knew it wasn’t his best game and took accountability after the Steelers improved to 2-1.
At a glance, the Steelers’ defense had five sacks and forced five turnovers. That’s everything you’d expect from one of the best defenses in the league on paper. But they allowed 10 of 18 attempts on third and fourth down and couldn’t get off the field for long stretches of play.
Winning while flawed beats losing. But the Steelers know they’ll need more than survival mode to make noise in 2025.
