Somehow, someway, the Pittsburgh Steelers escaped Week 3 with a win. Despite forcing five turnovers, they couldn’t quite put the New England Patriots away until the end of the game. Their offense was a big reason for that. They started the game well offensively, but after that, they struggled to get anything going. One of their ugliest possessions was when they opened up the second half. On the third play, Aaron Rodgers threw a brutal interception. He took total responsibility for that mistake after the Steelers’ 21-14 win.
“It was one of those weird, disjointed games,” Rodgers said late Sunday afternoon via the team’s YouTube channel. “We had three possessions in the first half. We had a chance on the third possession to keep it going. We just, Pat [Freiermuth] and I, weren’t on the same page on the scramble drill. Then we sat on the bench for what seemed to be 20 or 30 minutes.
“So, we just couldn’t get into a rhythm at all. And then we came out, second half, I made a terrible throw. Defense just kind of stood on their head all day. But I thought the first two drives were really good rhythm-wise and we just couldn’t find that rhythm in the second half.”
That play came when the Steelers were leading the Patriots 14-7 with former Steeler Robert Spillane the one picking Rodgers off. He took the ball to just outside the end zone, setting the Patriots up nicely. It was surprising to see, considering how good Rodgers has been in his career at protecting the football.
Thankfully, the Steelers’ defense forced another turnover. Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson seemingly had a touchdown right in front of him, but he coughed the ball up, with Payton Wilson making the recovery in the end zone.
That was one of many timely plays the Steelers’ defense made against the Patriots. While they still had a lot of issues on that side of the ball, particularly on third and fourth down, they made up for that with turnovers. Ultimately, those plays were a huge reason why the Steelers won.
Overall, it was a rough day for Rodgers. He completed 16-of-23 passes for only 139 yards, two touchdowns, and that brutal interception. He made a few decent throws, but overall, Rodgers and the Steelers’ offense played poorly. They’ll likely want to go back to the drawing board this week.
Through three games, Rodgers’ play has been up and down. Week 3 certainly held more downs than ups. The Steelers still managed to win, though, which speaks to their tenacity. Hopefully, Rodgers can start to string together some more positive plays.
