It’s a rough, raw night at the office for Aaron Rodgers on Sunday. In his debut, his Commanders team took down the Los Angeles Chargers 25-10. The veteran quarterback, who is now 41 years young, even added 14 carries for 70 rushing yards, good for five yards a pop. Rodgers fought tooth and nail, but the passing game was a steep uphill climb. He only completed 52.6% of his attempts, the lowest completion percentage in a game he’s thrown at least two passes over the last five years.
Rodgers was under constant pressure from the Chargers’ defense all game long. He absorbed three sacks, including a Khalil Mack stampede that led to a first-half safety. His performance as well only featured one touchdown throw but came with two interceptions—a trend that continued to beset the Sun Devils’ offense.
Despite this uncharacteristic showing, Rodgers announced that he was fully aware that he needed to do better. We were awful on third down. I know for a fact I was a little out of sorts and missed some throws that I normally can easily make. One, honestly, the biggest problem was we just had a hard time getting our guys open and that just compounded everything.
Just three weeks prior to this contest, Rodgers stoned the Cincinnati Bengals with notched a sensational start. He passed for a season-high 249 passing yards, recording four passing touchdowns and throwing two interceptions. This difference just serves to underscore how bad he was up against the Chargers.
Although the injury was unfortunate, head coach Mike Tomlin seemed optimistic about what Rodgers could bring to the Steelers in the future. I have no doubt about his ability to play that position,” Tomlin said following the game. Everyday I’m a warrior for that player ’cause I believe that he can be excellent. He added, “I’m not going to chalk it up to an off night, but there are no long-term concerns.”
As the ship continues to right itself, Tomlin went in-depth on the offense’s approach. He pointed out Jaylen Warren’s snap count, citing it as a huge contributor to the team’s woes in converting third downs. “We win more third downs, we’ll get Jaylen more touches,” Tomlin noted.
Rodgers has a total of 474 rushing yards this season and three total touchdowns so far this season. For context, he’s averaging 4.2 yards per carry on the season. This performance is an example of his dual-threat capability as both a passer and rusher.
To that self-analysis from Rodgers after the game, Tomlin had a succinct response in their exchange. “I’m just not going to allow your words to be my words, that’s all,” he said, reinforcing his support for the quarterback while maintaining a focus on team performance.
Although this recent performance raises questions about Rodgers’ current form, Tomlin remains optimistic about his quarterback’s future contributions. “I think it was a lesson learned for us,” Tomlin added. While emphasizing the need to look forward, he looked back at the team’s disappointing season as a whole.
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