As if the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals wasn’t bad enough, the Steelers could’ve lost their starting quarterback to injury in a strange way. Following Rodgers’ 68-yard touchdown pass to TE Pat Freiermuth, OT Broderick Jones tackled him from behind in celebration. In the moment, Rodgers was heated, getting up and yelling at Jones.
But there’s no lingering animosity between the two. Jones said as much on Monday, and Rodgers confirmed it when talking to reporters today.
“I told him ‘I’m 41, you can’t be out there tackling me.’ But I love Brod. We had a couple laughs about it,” Rodgers said, according to Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Twitter.
“The only tackle I had the other night was Broderick. Other than that I’m feeling good. He’s the first one to come find me after a play,” Rodgers said via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor on Twitter.
It’s understandable why Rodgers was upset in the moment. Jones has over 100 pounds on him and Rodgers simply didn’t see him coming and certainly didn’t expect Jones to take him to the ground. It could’ve led to Rodgers getting hurt, and it was an odd move by Jones to jump on him with Rodgers not able to see him coming.
But Jones was excited after a big touchdown pass gave the Steelers the lead, and he’s often been one of the first players to celebrate with Rodgers after a score. It was a cause for celebration, and Jones likely wasn’t thinking too much about the fact that he was essentially trucking his 41-year-old quarterback.
It’s good that the two smoothed things over, and the incident isn’t a distraction. Rodgers was fired up in the moment, but having a lingering issue with his starting left tackle wouldn’t be good for team morale and could have caused problems for the Steelers as they look to rebound after a loss. That isn’t the case, and the incident will just go down as a strange moment in a game the Steelers would probably like to forget sooner rather than later.
By the end of the season, it’s something that probably won’t even be remembered. If anything, maybe it can strengthen the relationship between Jones and Rodgers. Rodgers has been effusive in his praise of Jones this season, even mentioning that Jones is often the first player to celebrate with him. While the celebration went sideways last week, now it’s something that Jones and Rodgers can share a laugh over.
