Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones was taking questions from reporters in the locker room Monday when Aaron Rodgers walked by and did or said something that threw him off a bit.
It’s too bad Rodgers didn’t stroll past a couple of minutes earlier when Jones was discussing their viral moment from late in Thursday night’s loss to the Bengals. After the Steelers offense took the lead, there was Jones running to celebrate with Rodgers but jumping on his back and inadvertently bringing the oldest player in the NFL to the ground in his excitement.
“The way Broderick described it on the field versus what we saw on the video was so funny,” right tackle Troy Fautanu explained. “In the moment [Jones saw it differently]. Obviously, emotions were very high.”
We’ve all been in situations where what we saw and felt in our mind’s eye was not exactly reality. Jones didn’t get too much into the details from his perspective, but insisted there’s no ill will from Rodgers, who certainly looked to be annoyed in real time.
Rodgers gave Jones a get-off-me push, which was captured by the TV cameras. But it sounds as if it’s been more of a comical topic than anything else in the days since the game ended.
“He was a little mad, but it’s all right,” Jones grinned. “It’s football. It gets intense. … It’s just the energy he brings and I bring. He told me, ‘Don’t lose the fire.’ I told him the same. We shall see on Sunday after he throws another touchdown. I might tackle him again.”
All jokes aside, Jones, Fautanu and the men in the middle of the Steelers’ offensive line have a significant challenge this week. Keeping Rodgers clean will be tough enough, so avoiding any friendly fire is the least they can do.
Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers come to town ranked sixth in the NFL with three sacks per game. They had six Sunday in a win against the Cardinals. Parsons had three himself, including two in the fourth quarter, and he would’ve had a fourth if not for a hip-drop tackle penalty.
“Parsons is a game-wrecker, so we’re gonna treat him as such,” said Fautanu, who watched the game live. “We’re going into the game plan knowing we’ve got to block that guy.”
There are more layers to this test for Fautanu and Jones. Parsons is far from stagnant, with the Packers lining him up on both sides of the line of scrimmage depending on the play.
He’s also been complaining that officials are missing “egregious” holding penalties against him, so while you expect the calls to be fair and balanced no matter what, opposing linemen are under the microscope versus Parsons. Even Packers coach Matt LaFleur noted that he’ll address it with referee crews, and the Cardinals were flagged for one hold of Parsons.
“We’ve just got to continue to keep [Rodgers] upright,” Jones said. “I feel like the o-line did their job doing that last week. We’ve got to continue to trend in the right direction — keep him upright and keep him healthy this season.”
Indeed, the only time all night Rodgers got sacked in Cincinnati was by Jones. Rodgers will address that, as well as the storyline of facing his original team when he holds his weekly news conference Wednesday.
Calvin Austin III nearing return
In the meantime, Rodgers could get one of his top targets back this week. Starting receiver Calvin Austin III has missed two games with the shoulder injury he sustained Sept. 28 and isn’t sure yet if he’ll return Sunday but is “definitely making great progress with the trainers.”
“Things are looking very positive,” Austin said Monday. “Mentally, I’m in a good spot.”
Austin is targeting some practice work first and he’s doing “everything in my power to be ready for that” after he was unable to participate the past two weeks. The Steelers did not practice Monday and will release their first injury report of the week Wednesday.
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