The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be fading.
After starting the season 4-1 against suspect competition, they’ve been exposed by better teams over the last month, losing three of their last four games. They now lead the surging Baltimore Ravens by just one game in the AFC North, losing their stranglehold on the division in just a few weeks.
Aaron Rodgers has mostly played well this season, but he’s drawn some criticism this week after one of the worst games of his career against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football. While three of the Steelers’ four losses can be pinned on the defense, Rodgers deserves the blame for that one after throwing two interceptions and completing just 51.6 percent of his passes.
Media personality Colin Cowherd defended Rodgers on Thursday’s episode of “The Herd,” however, telling people not to blame the four-time MVP for Pittsburgh’s recent struggles.
“Why are you blaming Aaron? Pittsburgh’s offense has been unwatchable for like seven years. He just stepped into their quicksand,” Cowherd said. “He has the most Steeler touchdown passes since Big Ben’s last season, through nine games. That tells you about the dysfunction of Pittsburgh.”
Story continues below advertisement
The Steelers have struggled offensively since the end of Ben Roethlisberger’s career. Rodgers was supposed to help fix that this year, but Pittsburgh ranks 16th in scoring — exactly the same as last year. The Steelers also rank 29th in yards per game after ranking 23rd last year, going backwards in that department.
However, that’s not really Rodgers’ fault, as he’s playing about as well as possible for a soon-to-be 42-year-old. He has his best completion rate and passer rating since his last MVP campaign in 2021. It’s not his fault that Pittsburgh doesn’t have many weapons or that Arthur Smith isn’t a great offensive coordinator.
Story continues below advertisement
Cowherd thinks the Steelers need to blow things up and shift away from their old-school, defensive-minded culture. He also thinks Mike Tomlin and many of the team’s old defensive players need to go, allowing the franchise to pivot to a younger, more offensive-minded approach.
Rodgers will try to bounce back at home this weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have one of the league’s worst defenses.
More Steelers: Steelers’ Will Howard Explains How Aaron Rodgers Is Helping Him In Rookie Season
Story continues below advertisement
Featured image via Barry Reeger/Imagn Images