Rodgers: Over and Out

By BRUCE LOWITT

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh’s unnervingly mild-mannered quarterback, went berserk in the locker room following the Steelers’ Thursday night loss in Cincinnati, according to teamates who said he blamed everyone but himself for the Bengals’ 33-31 victory.

“I’d say ‘batshit crazy’ is how I’d describe Aaron’s behavior,” Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf said of Rodgers. Metcalf was the target of two Rodgers passes that were intercepted, both of which were turned into Cincinnati scores. “I mean, if he wants to throw into double coverage, and by that I mean underthrow, what the hell does he expect?”

“Oh, fuck him,” Rodgers snapped when told of Metcalf’s comment. “I throw into double coverage all the time and it’s his responsibility to get to where the ball’s going to be. If he can’t run a simple route, then read my mind and adjust on the fly, maybe we should get someone who can.”

Pittsburgh took a 31-30 lead with 2:31 remaining when Rodgers, on second-and-20, connected with Pat Freiermuth on a 68-yard touchdown pass play.

“That’s another thing,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’ve got two and a half minutes to play with and I tell him to work the ball downfield slowly and score the winning touchdown with a few seconds to go. But no-o-o. Aaron has to be Mister Big Shot and throw his fourth TD of the game with so much time left that (Bengals quarterback Joe) Flacco can milk the clock until there’s nothing left for us.”

“Oh, please,” Rodgers shot back. “If you want to blame somebody, blame Freiermuth for being so freaking wide open.”

Flacco completed passes of 15 and 18 yards to Ja’Marr Chase and 28 to Tee Higgins in the Bengals’ winning drive. “That’s how you do it, not with big-hero plays,” a clearly peeved Tomlin said.

After the Bengals took the lead on Evan McPherson’s game-winning 36-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining, the Steelers had one last shot, a 68-yard Hail Mary bomb by Rodgers. But in the crowd of players in the end zone, Cincinnati cornerback DJ Ivey leaped and slapped it down to end the game.

“What the fuck is wrong with our guys?” a snarling Rodgers said. “Why didn’t someone punch him in the balls while he was going up so we could have scored the winning TD?”

“Hmm,” Tomlin mused. “Maybe I should’ve punched Rodgers in the balls with two and a half (minutes) to play and put in Mason Rudolph. At least he knows how to follow orders.”