Roll the Tape - Steelers Missed Opportunities from Last Week’s Chargers Game
via NFL+
Tough week to be a Steelers fan.
No need for window dressing in this post. The Steelers got their ass beat by the Chargers in LA 25-10, and these are some of the plays I think they’d like to have back.
This, to me (above), was a game-defining miss by Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf. I’ve seen some folks try to blame #8, and I’ve seen others try to blame #4. DK took ownership of this play saying he “should’ve kept the route high”, but I don’t think he would’ve had that kind of separation if he did that. There’s also folks out there that think DK slowed down on his route, but I think he was just trying to keep some real estate in front of him, because he can’t run full speed towards the sideline. With the separation he has, I think it was the right thing to do to run it flat and slow down. Rodgers has enough time to set his feet here, too. He just needs to put this ball out in front of DK, and he just sails it, which ended up becoming a recurring theme in this game. To Rodgers’ credit, he had no time in the pocket, because Broderick Jones (#77) gets beat instantaneously, and he ends up making a fadeaway throw rolling left because of it. 77 and 8 had bad days.
Like I said, a recurring theme. On this play (above), Jonnu Smith (#81) is wide-the-fuck-open, and Rodgers has a clean pocket, but he sails another ball. It initially looked like a catch, but the Chargers would challenge the ruling on the field, and it would ultimately be ruled incomplete. This play comes on a 2nd & 10. Two plays later, Chris Boswelll missed the FG, and the Steelers came up empty on this drive. That’s some really simple shit that Smith and Rodgers should be able to execute like 95 out of 100 times against that coverage. It’s a bad miss by #8.
On the ensuing Chargers drive, Kyle Dugger (#29) had this INT opportunity (above) gift-wrapped for him, but he couldn’t come down with it. The defense played to their standard in this game in my personal opinion, although the box score watchers will disagree. However, there were a couple of opportunities for turnovers that they couldn’t come away with, which was a little disheartening. I chose this play by Dugger, because the Chargers were closing in on points at that moment, but Joey Porter Jr. got his hands on a couple that probably should’ve gone the other way as well. Coming away with just one of those could’ve been the swing that we needed and unfortunately didn’t get.
Several months back when the Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers, my thoughts were: if we’re getting the cerebral competitor that just wants to lace ‘em up one last time, because he loves ball, then I’m good with that. I’m paraphrasing, but that’s basically the sentiment I echoed on this platform when it happened. I was less concerned about his arm or his mobility; I just wanted to know that he was going to come in and give 100% effort. I just wanted to know that his heart was still in it. Now, watch him in the play above. Ya know, we activated Will Howard this week, so naturally, fans of him are going to be calling for him to start, especially after the offensive performance we had on Sunday night. Allow me to get ahead of this: Aaron Rodgers should be our starter for the rest of the 2026 season. With that being said, it’s actually going to start getting very loud for Rodgers if he continues to spin away from hits and sail his receivers 7 yards over their heads. Like the play to Jonnu Smith, Gainwell is pretty damn open here. The pressure gets home, but that’s a play that should’ve been converted in my opinion. On the next play, we forced that double-teamed jump ball to DK and turned the ball over on downs.
I swear, every time I give Calvin Austin III (#19) his flowers, he comes back the next week and does something absolutely maddening. At this point in the game, about midway through the fourth quarter and down two scores, it was probably over anyway, but a concentration drop in that spot is really bad. A concentration drop that leads to an INT just days after the trade deadline where the Steelers were loudly looking for a WR2 is just…devastating. Hopefully they can get him involved early in the game this Sunday and get him some confidence back. He surely needs it.
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