It was a very ugly Sunday Night Football contest for the Pittsburgh Steelers, a squad that’s started to struggle a bit over the past few weeks.
Still sitting in first place in the AFC North, I don't think the Steelers are in the worst possible scenario, but they certainly aren’t what they were just a few weeks ago.
The Steelers' offense was nonexistent against the Los Angeles Chargers in Los Angeles on Sunday, with quarterback Aaron Rodgers being the main reason why.
Rodgers finished just 16-31 for 161 yards, one touchdown, and two brutal interceptions. The Chargers' defense is above average, but for a player of Rodgers’ caliber, he could’ve certainly done more.
When speaking to reporters after the game, I was happy to hear that Rodgers at least took some blame for the loss. I'll never blame any game on one player, but if the Steelers had better quarterback play in their contest, they likely would’ve been in a much better position than they were.
"This was not my best performance," he said, per NFL.com. "I got to play better than this for us to win. Whatever it takes ... if it's better checks, if it's better throws, whatever it is, I got to play better. I will. ... We got to play better on offense, for sure. But this is part of the season. There's ebbs and flows, there's ups and downs, and we can't ride the wave."
"A lot of stuff wasn't working," Rodgers said. "We were bad on third down. I was just a little bit off. I missed DK [Metcalf] early. Could have been a big play. ... I missed some throws for sure. And then we weren't getting guys open ... times the guys were open, I missed some throws I usually make."
We can examine the Steelers' trade deadline and question whether the front office should’ve done more to acquire better weapons for Rodgers.
However, again, I don't want to say that it would’ve made it too much of a difference, mainly just due to how Rodgers played.
It'll be interesting to see how the team looks in the playoffs, if it gets there, as the Steelers have questions on both sides of the football.