Although he didn't want to discuss what was said after the game between him and Jordan Love, Aaron Rodgers was ready to share my emotions after Sunday evening defeat by his former team.
Rogers and Steelers made a strong start which led to a 16-7 half-time lead. But Packers flipped the script in the second half as Love led the Packers to five scoring drives while completing 20 passes in a row.
“Upset,” Rogers said later.. “I’m disappointed that I didn’t play better, that we didn’t play better, especially in the second half.”
Discipline issues, Rodgers said, and third-down issues were two of the biggest problems facing the Steelers on Sunday night.
Pittsburgh's offense, which entered the weekend as NFL The unit, ranked eighth out of third, was just 1 of 10 in converting in those situations Sunday night.
The Steelers' early failure to convert on third down prevented them from taking an even bigger halftime lead, as they had to settle for three Chris Boswell goals from the field. Rodgers attributed some of the problems on third down to coming off the sticks early with either a negative play or a penalty. He also said he could have been more precise with the ball.
The Steelers made the problem worse with a variety of pointless penalties, esp. DK Metcalf's poke in the eyes Packers linebacker Walker Quay it cost the Steelers 15 yards.
“That's not our way of doing business, and we can't live like that,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. said unnecessary penalties for your team.
Rodgers, who finished the night with 219 yards and two touchdowns on 24 of 36 passing, called the start of the second half a key turning point in the game.
Pittsburgh received the ball early in the second half but was forced to punt after the Packers defense was found to have escaped with an offsides call that, if penalized, would have given the Steelers a third-and-3 situation. Instead, the Packers received the ball and quickly took over the tempo of the game when Love punted. Tucker Craft on a 59-yard completion that marked the first of Green Bay's four second-half touchdowns.
Speaking of Love, Rodgers was clearly impressed with what happened Sunday night. Love, who became the first Packers quarterback since Brett Favre in 2007 to complete 20 consecutive passes in a game, finished the night with 360 yards and three touchdowns on 29 of 37 passing.
“He played fantastic,” Rodgers said. “He's had a really good season. He's been very efficient with the football. He's opportunistic, although I felt like he was very patient tonight. They made decisions on the fly. He took check-downs, moved well in the pocket. I thought he played very well.”
As for the emotions of the game against his former team, Rodgers said things would have been much different if Sunday night's game had been played at Lambeau Field. Ironically, there were moments when it seemed like the game was going to Green Bay, like “Go Pack, Go!” chants could be heard throughout the game, especially in the second half.
“I’ve heard this chant for 18 years,” Rogers said. “Packers fans travel very well. For the first time in a long time, I used silent counting during a home game. This is a credit to the Packers fans.
Rodgers took time last week to reflect on his stellar career with the Packers. After Sunday's game, however, the 41-year-old, a four-time league MVP, was focused on his current team and what they need to do despite a two-game losing streak and a 7-1 record. Colts I'll be in town next Sunday.
“Well, just an honest assessment,” he said. “I think we need to put our feelings aside and accept criticism, any position, any player, and be honest about what we need to do to get better. And then we will not be able to defeat ourselves.”
“I think during the three losses we had moments where we had opportunities and we hurt ourselves either with turnovers or just negative plays. Therefore we must exclude them. We have to be the same on offense and defense and keep the faith.”
