The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped multiple spots in ESPN's NFL power rankings after losing to the New England Patriots in Week 2.
The Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) dropped multiple spots in ESPN's NFL power rankings after losing to the New England Patriots (1-1) in Week 2.
Pittsburgh was blown out by New England, losing by a final score of 20-3.
The Steelers went from No. 21 to No. 25 in ESPN's NFL power rankings.
Brooke Pryor, who covers Pittsburgh for ESPN, highlighted Aaron Rodgers and how the veteran "is no longer comfortable under pressure."
"So far this season, Rodgers has completed just 8 of 24 attempts on 31 dropbacks under pressure," Pryor wrote. "He has been sacked six times on such plays. Rodgers is also completing a career-low 50% against the blitz, as his off-target percentage on such throws is a career-worst 30.4%. While the offensive line's struggles have significantly contributed to Rodgers' inaccuracy, his decreased mobility at 42 years old has made it even more difficult to manage the pressure."
Rodgers did not play well against the Patriots. The future Hall of Famer went 23/39 through the air for 187 passing yards. He had no touchdown passes and was picked off once.
Pittsburgh has only one offensive touchdown this season through two games. T.J. Watt had a pick-six in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons for the only other TD.
Rodgers will retire from the NFL after this season. The four-time MVP has 408 passing yards, one passing touchdown and one interception through two games. He's completing only 59.5% of his passes.
The Steelers face the 2-0 Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3.
Pittsburgh enters that game averaging only 11.5 points per game on the season.
"We got to take ownership as players," Rodgers said. "We got to be accountable to each other about our performance. Mine wasn't good enough, and a lot of guys' on offense wasn't good enough. Definitely on us to play better, but you're not going to see me panic. I don't think Mike's going to panic. Urgency's going to go up a little bit for sure, but no panic."
Rodgers (42) is the oldest active starting QB in the NFL.
Through two games, he looks like it.
"It's frustrating for sure," Rodgers said of not getting into the end zone at New England on Sunday. "The defense has been playing great. They've been holding [opponents to] 13 points a game in two games, and offensively I think we're averaging like eight points a game. That's not winning football."
Rodgers had 3,322 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. It will be interesting to see what his numbers look like at the end of this season.
