Steelers Fall Flat in Buffalo as Rodgers Calls for Accountability
This wasn’t the return Pittsburgh had envisioned.
The Steelers brought Aaron Rodgers in to spark a playoff push. What they got instead on Sunday was a sobering 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills - and a quarterback who didn’t hold back when asked what’s going wrong.
Rodgers, visibly frustrated after the game, didn’t mince words when asked how the offense could get on the same page. “When there’s film sessions, everybody shows up.
When I check to a route, they run the right route,” he said. That’s not just a critique - that’s a challenge to the locker room.
And honestly, the tape backs him up.
Buffalo didn’t need to be perfect to dominate. Josh Allen threw for a modest 123 yards with a touchdown and a pick, but he added a rushing score that helped keep the Steelers defense guessing.
The real damage came on the ground, where James Cook III ran wild for 144 yards. As a team, the Bills racked up 249 rushing yards, controlling the clock, the tempo, and the tone of the game.
Pittsburgh’s offense, meanwhile, never found a rhythm. Rodgers finished just 10-of-21 for 117 yards and lost a fumble.
The run game? Virtually nonexistent, with the Steelers managing just 58 yards on the ground.
That’s not going to cut it in December, especially against a Bills team clawing for AFC positioning.
The moment everything unraveled came right out of halftime. On the first snap of the third quarter, Joey Bosa came screaming off the edge and crushed Rodgers from behind.
The ball popped loose, and Christian Benford scooped it up and took it to the house. Just like that, a 7-3 Steelers lead turned into a 10-7 deficit - and the beginning of a 23-0 run that buried Pittsburgh.
From that point on, the Steelers looked shell-shocked. Drives stalled.
Mistakes piled up. Acrisure Stadium, which had been buzzing with playoff hopes just a few weeks ago, fell silent.
But even in the frustration, Rodgers made something else clear: he’s not giving up. He stood firmly behind head coach Mike Tomlin, reaffirming his belief in the staff and the direction of the team. And for all the outside noise - and there’s plenty of it now with the Steelers sitting at 6-6 - Rodgers isn’t backing down.
This is a quarterback who’s still playing through what could be a career-ending injury. He’s out there every week, taking hits, trying to will this team forward. And all he wants is for everyone else to match that energy - to show up, to execute, to care as much as he does.
The Steelers brought in Rodgers for his leadership as much as his arm. Now, with the season teetering, his words carry even more weight. The question is whether the rest of the locker room is ready to respond.