From viewing what he called a “poorer” week of practice to having at least one of his pass catchers apparently skip film study, Aaron Rodgers had several reasons to think the Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t properly focused Sunday when they played the Buffalo Bills in a pivotal AFC matchup at Acrisure Stadium.

He wasn’t surprised then that the Steelers played their worst game of the season in a uninspiring 26-7 loss that represented their fifth defeat in the past seven games.

On the other hand, he wasn’t predicting the outcome, either.

“That doesn’t always translate to a negative performance,” Rodgers said after the Steelers dropped to 6-6 to fall back into a first-place tie with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. “There’s been great practice weeks and bad performances, and poor practice weeks and great performances over the 21 years of my career.

“But it wasn’t the best practice week. We’ve got to practice in the elements better. The execution, again, just wasn’t where it was.”

The Steelers let a 7-3 halftime lead slip away on the first play of the second half when Rodgers fumbled after being hit from behind on a sack, and the Bills turned the loose ball into a defensive touchdown. Less than five minutes later, the Steelers were staring at a nine-point deficit. With barely a minute gone in the fourth quarter, the Steelers trailed 23-7.

Powerless to stop the running game, the Steelers gave up 249 rushing yards, their worst performance in a home game since 1975. The offense was just as culpable, finishing with a season-low 166 yards and 10 first downs.

Perhaps it wasn’t coincidence that the letdown happened on Thanksgiving weekend. Despite the Ravens losing to Cincinnati on Thursday night, the Steelers played Sunday like their bellies were too full of turkey. And the practice session on the holiday may have been one culprit.

“A lot of it is just the energy at practice and the tempo,” Rodgers said. “We talked about it, and I thought Friday was better, but I thought Thursday wasn’t a great tempo, execution practice for us on offense.”

Rodgers also insinuated that the Steelers didn’t have perfect attendance at meetings.

“When there are film sessions, everybody shows up,” he said. “When I check to a route, you do the right route.”

The overriding question is this: If the Steelers aren’t properly amped up and prepared for a game which could have improved their standing in the division race and playoff picture, why should this week be any different with the Steelers heading to Baltimore for the first of two meetings with the Ravens?

“Have tough conversations,” defensive captain T.J. Watt said, “but we’ve been having tough conversations. So, it’s finding a way to play better, try to get everybody else — looking at myself in the mirror, as well — trying to play better. We need to figure something out because clearly what’s been going on hasn’t been working effectively. To not be able to stack wins in the National Football League is not a winning formula.”

A year ago, the Steelers headed to Baltimore fresh from a loss at Philadelphia that, unbeknownst to them, would start a season-ending five-game losing streak, counting playoffs. The Steelers were gashed for 220 yards, including 162 from Derrick Henry, in a 34-17 defeat.

This year, the Steelers will take a two-game losing streak into the matchup against the Ravens, whose five-game winning streak was blunted by the loss to the Bengals. And the issues stopping the run have arisen again. The Bills rushed for 249 yards, led by James Cook’s 144 yards. The last time the Steelers yielded more on the ground was the wild-card playoff loss in Baltimore last year when the Ravens gained 299.

The Steelers played the game Sunday without rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, who had helped improve the run defense. With Harmon also injured in the season opener, the Steelers yielded 182 rushing yards to the New York Jets.

“Whenever you miss some people, it’s impactful,” coach Mike Tomlin said.

Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, the longest tenured Steelers player, said the approach needs to change this week, regardless of which players are on the field.

“Practice (ticked) off, watch film (ticked) off, do everything (ticked) off,” he said. “I’m not going to go gently into the night. We all have to get our (stuff) together.”

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