Aaron Rodgers: No 'major changes' on offense needed as Steelers try to bounce back from 'stinker'

When he took the field Sunday night at SoFi Stadium, Aaron Rodgers made the 250th start of his 21-year NFL career and the 10th for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It was a milestone that wasn’t worth celebrating for Rodgers or the Steelers, who played easily their worst offensive game of the season in a 25-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

As one of five quarterbacks in NFL history to start 250 games in the regular season, Rodgers is as qualified as anyone to know what constitutes a bad day at the office. Rodgers admittedly had one against the Chargers, but a 158-91-1 career record is an example of how he’s able to rebound from poor performances.

Which is why Rodgers isn’t panicking with the Steelers set to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.

“If the process is right, you don’t have to make any major changes or freak out,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “This is the nature of the league. There is going to be a stinker every now and then. You have to bounce back, get back to the things you do, get back into your routine and try to be better the next week.”

Rodgers finished with 16 completions in 31 attempts for 161 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a 50.1 passer rating against the Chargers. Until a late touchdown drive in which he completed 6 of 8 passes for 65 yards, Rodgers was 10 of 23 for 96 yards and a 19.5 rating that was the lowest of his career.

Even with that cosmetic touchdown, Rodgers still finished with the 12th-lowest rating among those 250 starts, and it was the fifth-worst rating in a game in which he attempted more than 15 passes. Coach Mike Tomlin declined to label it as an “off night,” but he’s also not concerned about his quarterback’s play as he approaches his 42nd birthday next month.

“I have no long-term reservations about his ability to play the position and play the position at a high level for us,” Tomlin said.

Until Rodgers encountered the Chargers defense, he had posted five triple-digit passer ratings this season and all but one game with a rating of at least 95.0. The Chargers, though, blanketed top receiver DK Metcalf, who finished with three catches for 35 yards. No other receiver picked up the slack and exceeded that modest yardage total.

“The other guys have to get open and make plays because DK is a super-talented guy,” Rodgers said. “We haven’t been able to get him the targets we’ve wanted to because he’s getting doubled every third down, basically.”

The Steelers were 0 for 9 on third down until they converted twice on that late touchdown drive. Metcalf, though, wasn’t concerned about the extra attention he received from the Chargers — a common threat from the first half of the season.

“I really don’t pay attention to double coverage,” Metcalf said. “I run my route, and I may look up and see one person there or two. It doesn’t affect how I view the game.”

What it has affected is the offense. The lack of a consistent No. 2 receiving threat continues to hurt the Steelers, much as it did last year when George Pickens was the top receiving threat. The Steelers have the No. 29-ranked offense in terms of total yards, and they are No. 23 in passing yardage.

Metcalf leads the Steelers with 502 receiving yards. Ranking second with 260 yards is tight end Pat Freiermuth. Receivers Calvin Austin and Roman Wilson have 237 and 149 yards, respectively. Until a consistent complementary threat emerges, the Steelers can expect defenses to provide safety help on Metcalf.

“We have to understand when they are doing it and in which situations, and we have to win to get open for Aaron,” Freiermuth said.

The rematch against Cincinnati might be the time for the Steelers to make Freiermuth a bigger part of the offense. When the teams met four weeks ago, Freiermuth had his best game, catching five passes for 111 yards and his first two touchdowns of the season. Three Steelers tight ends caught touchdown passes in that game.

“I feel like he had more reps in that game and opportunities to be in the progression. That was a big part of it,” Rodgers said. “Pat is a really smart player, and we’ve got to keep finding ways to get him on the field.”

Still, Rodgers won’t be surprised if the Bengals construct a defensive game plan around stopping Metcalf.

“I would expect them to. DK is an ‘A’ receiver,” he said. “He’s a dominant player. We need to find ways even when he’s getting doubled to give him more targets. When they double him the way they did the other night, there’s not as many opportunities as you might think.”