FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — A year ago, Aaron Rodgers engineered a drive at Gillette Stadium that helped the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the team that went on to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
That version of Rodgers wasn’t anywhere to be found in Sunday's 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots. Instead, the future Hall of Famer looked every bit like a 42-year-old playing his last NFL season.
Rodgers wasn't solely to blame. The Steelers' offensive line
surrendered four sacks, while veteran wide receiver DK Metcalf had another rough day. But Rodgers pointed to his own shortcomings.
“As players, we’ve got to take ownership. My performance wasn’t good enough and a lot of guys on offense weren’t good enough,” Rodgers said after finishing 23 of 39 for 187 yards. “We’ve got to start by looking at ourselves, not point the finger.”
Through two games, Rodgers has thrown one touchdown pass in 79 attempts. The offensive issues that plagued coach Mike McCarthy's Steelers during their Week 1 win over Atlanta showed up again.
During the second quarter, New England's Christian Elliss delivered a blind-side sack of Rodgers, leading to a 36-yard loss. Rodgers shrugged off the hard hit.
“I’ve learned you’ve got to get up quickly, number one, so they don’t send anybody out to get you,” Rodgers said. “That was definitely a shot. I haven’t taken too many of those in our career because usually I have a feeling if we’re picked up or not picked up. That was a lapse in communication obviously there.”
Pittsburgh still had its chances in New England's home opener. Drake Maye was intercepted on the first series of the second half, and the Patriots' Andy Borregales missed a field-goal attempt from 47 yards.
The Steelers failed to turn either of those opportunities into points. Following the New England turnover, Rodgers misfired on third-and-6, leading to a punt. After the missed kick, Metcalf dropped a pass on third down.
Metcalf caught only four of his nine targets for 27 yards.
“It’s frustrating, for sure,” Rodgers said. “Our defense has been playing great. They’ve been holding teams to 13 points per game through two games, and offensively, we’re averaging eight points per game. That’s not winning football.”
With Pittsburgh trailing 13-3 in the fourth quarter, Christian Barmore sacked Rodgers, leading to a fumble and a 19-yard scoop-and-score by Elijah Ponder.
Later in the quarter, the Steelers turned it over again when rookie Germie Bedard failed to secure a pass from Rodgers and Patriots rookie Gabe Jacas came away with the interception.
“He created some separation, made some contested catches, and then made a rookie play,” Rodgers said of Bedard. “He’s a good kid, and cares about it. We’re going to need him to keep improving.”
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