Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Couldn't Overcome Mike Tomlin Problem

Aaron Rodgers Couldn't Even Beat It

This game, by far, was the most visibly frustrated Aaron Rodgers. Whether it was Zach Frazier snapping the football before Rodgers was ready in the redzone or Jaylen Warren trying to run a flea flicker when it was not a flea flicker call, things kept going wrong.

It was almost as if the mistakes were waiting. Or as if they were already here and the Steelers were going to make them because of what they were up against - themselves.

Rodgers finished the game with 249 yards and four touchdowns, and his second-most impressive performance as a Steeler. At times, he looked like vintage Aaron Rodgers, and throughout the entire game, he did ever thing he could to keep Pittsburgh alive.

Jaylen Warren Even Helped

He wasn't alone, either. Jaylen Warren looked incredible, averaging 7.9 yards per carry on 16 carries for 129 yards. His best NFL performance by a mile, and what he did was make the offense look unbeatable.

Except they were.

No matter how many great runs he had, or long passes Rodgers threw, or even Pat Freiermuth breaking onto the scene with 111 yards and a touchdown, the offense never had a chance. At least not when you knew the defense was going back on the field.

The Tomlin Effect

Mike Tomlin is one of the NFL's best head coaches. The Steelers are still very much so contenders for the AFC North, the AFC conference and a Super Bowl. They are victims of trap games, though, and that's not going to change.

This was an opportunity for Tomlin and the Steelers to shut down all the noise about falling to poor teams. They failed. Miserably. And the side of the football that let them down was the side Tomlin spends most of his time working with.

No one would've thoughts Jalen Ramsey would be a problem in this matchup, or that T.J. Watt would disappear. But he was, and he did. No one would've thought that the Bengals terrible offensive line and brutal offense would put on a showing that stunned the national. They did.

And in the midst of it, Tomlin added another AFC North loss on Thursday night.

The Steelers shouldn't panic, but they should acknowledge that their coach has a flaw. One Aaron Rodgers and company tried everything in their power to overcome, but couldn't. And the Steelers are now 4-2 with people asking questions.