Aaron Rodgers is a Problem For the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns last night 27-24 on Thursday Night Football. After getting out to an early 10-0 lead, Pittsburgh gave up 21 unanswered to the Browns and found themselves trailing 21-10. They would come back to tie the game at 24 late in the fourth quarter, before losing on an Andre Szmyt 56-yard field goal with :10 remaining. 

Pittsburgh’s offense played well last night, as Aaron Rodgers threw for over 290 yards for the second consecutive week. He’s been solid through four games, but his personality and antics between plays are killing the momentum of this team. 

Rodgers Can’t Keep His Cool

Whether it was yelling at head coach Mike McCarthy, or showing disgust with his offensive line, Aaron Rodgers was constantly angry. He doesn’t look like he’s enoying himself out there and it’s rubbing off on his teammates. The Steelers don’t look like they have fun on the football field, and last night wasn’t any different. 

At the very least Rodgers is playing good football, and there’s no denying it. He’s making vintage Aaron Rodgers throws and is getting the ball to his playmakers, but his personality is slowly killing this team. This is also something that Rodgers has done for quite some time. It happened at the end of his time in Green Bay, and it certainly happened during his short stint with the Jets. It’s just who he is and teams have to deal with it if they want the football player Aaron Rodgers. 

Where do the Steelers go from here?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are exactly who everyone thought they were, which is an average football team that will finish right around .500. You could chalk last night’s loss up to it being another typical AFC North game, but the truth is that the Steelers have bigger issues. They aren’t a championship contender and have problems that need to be addressed. Unfortunately, those will never get addressed because they will continue to do this back and forth of winning and losing. After a win, the conversation will be about how they are a playoff team and can all of a sudden look good, and the very next week they’ll lose and the alarm bells will ring. 

This has been Pittsburgh Steelers football for the past five years or so, and it’s going to be until something fundamentally changes. Two things can be true: The Steelers can beat good teams and show promise, and they can also have deep rooted issues that inevitably will cost them their season. Aaron Rodgers’ attitude isn’t the only problem in Pittsburgh, but it sure doesn’t help.