CINCINNATI — Aaron Rodgers had a rough night in Cincinnati on Thursday. During the Steelers‘ 33-31 loss to the Bengals, an angry Rodgers got into it with two different teammates, and in both situations, he had every right to be upset.
In the first quarter, Rodgers was caught on camera yelling at Steelers running back Jaylen Warren after Pittsburgh ran a flea flicker on a play that apparently wasn’t supposed to be a flea flicker. Warren took a handoff from Rodgers and then pitched back to the quarterback, who immediately had to throw the ball in the ground.
Following the play, Rodgers walked over to Warren and made it clear he wasn’t happy.
After the game, Rodgers was asked about that specific play and whether Warren was supposed to pitch him the ball.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a flea flicker,” Rodgers said. “We weren’t on the same page.”
There was definitely some sort of miscommunication, and it wasn’t just with Warren — Mike Tomlin also thought it was supposed to be a flea flicker. Following the loss, the Steelers head coach was asked directly if “a flea flicker was called” in the first half.
“It was,” Tomlin said.
Normally, you’d defer to the quarterback here and assume he’s right, but Rodgers is in just his sixth game with the Steelers, so it’s certainly possible there was some confusion on his end. Either way, Tomlin and Warren thought it was a flea flicker and Rodgers is clearly adamant it was not.
In the fourth quarter, Rodgers got so upset with a different teammate that he actually pushed him. After the quarterback threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth that put Pittsburgh up 31-30 with just 2:21 left to play, the Steelers started celebrating. Offensive lineman Broderick Jones decided to celebrate the score by TACKLING Rodgers, and as you can see below, the four-time NFL MVP was NOT happy.
Rodgers actually shoved Jones before walking to the sideline. It’s easy to see why Rodgers was upset here: Jones weighs more than 300 pounds, so Rodgers very easily could have been injured.
When you’re a 300-pound offensive lineman and you have a 41-year-old quarterback, you should never tackle him under any circumstance.
Rodgers did have an impressive night against the Bengals, throwing for 249 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions. It was a painful loss for the quarterback, who had his team on the cusp of a win before watching the Bengals pull out the victory on a last-second field goal.
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