Mike Tomlin: ‘No Long-Term’ Concerns About Aaron Rodgers After Loss to Chargers

Mike Tomlin isn’t giving Aaron Rodgers a pass by saying his veteran quarterback simply had an “off night” in Pittsburgh’s lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.Then again, the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach also isn’t worried about the NFL’s oldest active player bouncing back from one of the worst performances of his 21-year career.Rodgers completed just 16 of 31 passes for 161 yards with a touchdown in garbage time and two interceptions — one of which smacked off the hands of wide receiver Calvin Austin III — while also being sacked for a safety in a 25-10 setback that wasn’t even as close as the final score might indicate.Tomlin told reporters on Tuesday, “Sunday evening was what it is.” “But I don’t have any long-term concerns about his ability and willingness to play at this position, or play it at a very high level for us.Tomlin said that the Chargers had beaten his team, but did not think it was a sign of a predictable offense. This is despite the fact that the AFC North’s Steelers (5-4), who finished with less than 300 yards in total for the third consecutive week, were unable to extend their drives on third-downs. Pittsburgh converted only 36% of third downs this season. This includes 21% (7 out of 33) in the last three week. Tomlin told his coaching staff that they must find a way to make the opponents pay for double teaming wide receiver DK metcalf. Metcalf has 10 catches in 96 yard over this period.”We haven’t done a good enough job of putting others other than DK in position to win and win big, and they haven’t won big enough,” Tomlin said. We’ve got a lot to improve on.The Steelers chose to keep their draft capital rather than make a major trade to upgrade the receiving group behind Metcalf. The Steelers signed Marquez Valdez Scantling, a two-time Super Bowl champ, to their practice squad last weekend. Tomlin has not ruled out Valdez Scantling’s possibility of making the roster for Sunday’s game against Cincinnati (3-6). Only a few of the Steelers’ pass receptions have gone over 40 yards in this season. All but one came on plays that gained most of their yardage after the catch.”If you’re not doing a good enough job on possession downs, you need to have some big-play splash,” Tomlin said.Extending drives or flipping the field would provide Pittsburgh the opportunity to give running back Jaylen Warren more work. Warren averaged a healthy 5 yards per touch in his last five matches, but hasn’t seen more than 20 touches since September.”We win more third downs, we’ll get Jaylen more touches, it’s as simple as that,” Tomlin said. “Jaylen was having the trajectory of a good day in LA, but we didn’t convert enough third downs for you to really feel it.The Steelers may be relatively healthy, as they attempt to avenge their 33-31 loss to Joe Flacco’s Bengals in a shocking upset last month. Isaac Seumalo will practice again after missing the Chargers match with a pectoral muscle injury. The Steelers will be without safety Juan Thornhill who was released on Monday by Tomlin after saying that the veteran’s performance wasn’t up to par. Thornhill was the Steelers’ starting safety alongside DeShon Elliott at the beginning of the season, but his time on the field has steadily decreased. This is despite the fact that the Steelers are so injured in this position, they have started Kyle Dugger days after receiving him in a New England-New England trade. Pittsburgh has struggled to find “complementary” football that helped it to start 4-1.Tomlin said, “We need to create a more effective plan.” We’ve got more plays to make.Want great stories delivered straight to your inbox by The Associated Press? Sign up for a FOX Sports account or create one to follow teams, leagues and players. You will receive a customized newsletter every day! FOLLOW Customize your FOX experience by following your favorite teams, players and leagues.
2025-11-11 19:12:26