Steelers need more from Rodgers over the next two weeks

Aaron Rodgers played his worst game for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. It was bad enough to create some concerns over what he is going to be capable of over the remainder of the season, and also just how good he has actually been so far this season.

Bottom line: He was one of the biggest reasons they lost on Sunday night, and they need him to be better.

They especially need him to be better over the next two weeks given the opponents the Steelers are playing.

Aaron Rodgers has big opportunity for bounce back games next two weeks

The Steelers’ next two opponents are the Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears, two of the worst defensive — and pass defense — teams in the NFL. While both teams are capable of putting up big numbers offensively, neither one has shown any consistency in stopping opponents. Both teams rank in the bottom-five of passing yards against and points against. If Rodgers and the Steelers offense continue to struggle against them, it is worth asking if there is a team remaining on their schedule they will be able to beat at this point. 

The Steelers not only need those wins to hold off the Baltimore Ravens, they need them just to show their offense can still take advantage of weaker defenses. Especially since Rodgers has started to shown signs of slowing down in recent weeks.

Since the Steelers’ win against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 12, Rodgers’ net-yards per pass attempt (yards per pass subtracted by yards lost on sacks) has steadily dropped every week, going from 7.83 per attempt against the Browns, down to 7.32, to 5.18, to 4.92 and then down to a season-low 4.35 against the Chargers. 

Along with that his overall passer rating has also steadily dropped, going from 115.3 against the Browns, down to 103.7, to 101.5, to 95.3 to 50.6 against the Chargers. He is progressively getting worse as the season goes on. 

That has to be alarming for the Steelers because it is very similar to what happened with their Russell Wilson experience a year ago. Wilson started off great in his early starts for the Steelers, before rapidly starting to show his age as the season went on with consistently declining play. It seems to be happening again with an even older quarterback.

What is even more concerning is that Wilson’s first nine games with the Steelers were more productive than Rodgers’ first nine games with the Steelers.

Wilson had a better record (6-3 vs. 5-4 for Rodgers), higher overall passer rating (101.7 vs. 97.2), averaged more yards per pass attempt (7.9 to 6.8), had fewer interceptions (four vs. seven), more total yards (2,129 vs. 1,853) and more net yards per pass attempt (6.3 vs. 6.0). The only major statistical category where Rodgers has had the edge is touchdowns (18 vs. 15). 

What would help Rodgers and the Steelers offense the most is if they would commit more to running the offense through running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell. While Rodgers and the passing game have steadily regressed this season, the running game has managed to improve every week. Given where the Steelers strengths are in terms of personnel, taking the ball out of Rodgers’ hands and putting it into their running backs hands might be their best ticket for success.