Aaron Rodgers' off night leaves Steelers clinging to AFC North lead as Ravens heat up

“I was just a little bit off,” Rodgers said after completing 16 of 31 passes for 161 yards with a touchdown and two picks.

In more ways than one. His vaunted accuracy abandoned him, never more so than when he missed a streaking DK Metcalf in the first quarter for what would have been a touchdown, had not Rodgers overthrown the 6-foot-4 wide receiver by a good 5 yards.

More startling, however, was his lack of feel inside the pocket. The four-time MVP's ability to float between defenders as he scans downfield is one of the reasons he's lasted 21 seasons. Yet he seemed surprised when he looked over his right shoulder in the first quarter and saw the Chargers' Khalil Mack closing in. Rodgers stumbled trying to escape, bobbled the ball and then fell on it in the end zone for a safety.

“I should have just thrown the ball at someone's feet there,” he said.

Rodgers has long understood that when things don't go well for a team, the quarterback shoulders a chunk of the blame, regardless of how well he plays.

This was one of the times when it wasn't just window dressing, though — as coach Mike Tomlin pointed out afterward — there was plenty of blame to go around.

“We certainly got to be better,” Tomlin said.

The Steelers don't have a choice if they want to avoid another late-season collapse like the one they endured a year ago, when 10-3 turned into 10-7 and then a hasty exit from the playoffs.

While it's true that the 41-year-old Rodgers looked like the oldest active player in the league for the first time all season, it's also true that his play during the opening eight weeks is one of the main reasons Pittsburgh is atop an underperforming AFC North.

Rodgers is on pace to threaten Ben Roethlisberger's single-season franchise record of 34 touchdown passes set in 2018, and his decision-making has helped the Steelers become more efficient in the red zone.

Yet three times in the last month, Pittsburgh has been given the national spotlight with a chance to prove that this year's group is different than the “pretty good but nowhere near great” teams that have become the franchise's norm over the last decade.

All three times, they've failed. The defense came up empty against Joe Flacco and the Bengals, the entire team turtled in the second half of a loss to Green Bay, and the offense disappeared in the mid-autumn Southern California twilight.

Yes, the Steelers have wins over division leaders Indianapolis and New England. Both of those victories, however, came under a very specific set of circumstances. The defense kept forcing turnovers (11 combined), and Rodgers and the offense converted most of those mistakes into touchdowns.

That didn't happen against the Chargers. In fact, not much happened at all for an offense that hasn't topped 300 yards in a game in going on a month.

Just before the end of his postgame media session Sunday, Rodgers — who lives in Malibu, California — was asked about it being perhaps his final game in the Golden State. Rodgers pointed out that it could be his final game in Southern California, a nod to the Super Bowl being in Northern California in February.

The Steelers have shown the briefest of flashes of being able to make a run at it. To those flashes into something more, all involved need to be better.

The quarterback who didn't look like the Rodgers of old, but merely an old Rodgers on Sunday night, perhaps most of all.

What's working

Getting Jaylen Warren the ball.

Two months after signing a contract extension, Warren has more than upheld his end of the bargain. After a sluggish start, Warren is averaging 4.2 yards per carry on the season, including nearly 5.0 yards per carry over his last four games.

The issue might be that Warren isn't getting the ball enough. He's had 20 touches or more just twice this season.

What needs help

Play execution on first and second down. One of the main reasons the Steelers are 26th in the league in third-down conversion rate (36%) has been their inability get in manageable third-down situations. Only one of Pittsburgh's first nine third-down attempts — all of which failed — was less than 4 yards.

Stock up

When outside linebacker Nick Herbig thrived while subbing for an injured Alex Highsmith earlier this season, it was fair to wonder if Highsmith's days as Robin to T.J. Watt's Batman were numbered.

Obviously not. Highsmith has four sacks, a pass defensed and a forced fumble over his last two games.

Stock down

The Steelers opted not to search for an upgrade at wide receiver at the trade deadline, choosing to hold on to one of the higher-round draft picks (third or better) they would have had to part with to land one.

While it was a sound business decision — and the club did sign two-time Super Bowl winner Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the practice squad last week — the play of Calvin Austin III (who had a pass smack off his hands for an interception) and the rest of the group behind Metcalf did little to provide confidence this year's team can get by without another playmaker.

Injuries

CB Darius Slay exited with a concussion, adding the six-time Pro Bowler to a lengthy injury list for the secondary that includes S DeShon Elliott, S Jabrill Peppers, and S Chuck Clark. Veteran LG Isaac Seumalo sat out with a pectoral injury.

Key number

21 — The percentage of third downs the Steelers have converted (7 of 33) over the last three games.

Next steps

Hope for a rebound this weekend when the well-rested Bengals visit Acrisure Stadium.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl