While the Steelers fell to the Bengals, the connection between Pat Freiermuth and Aaron Rodgers offers some optimism. After a slow start to the season, he caught five passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. And that was all in the second half, by the way.
The Steelers didn’t look Freiermuth’s way once in the first 30 minutes, but Rodgers noticed. After the game, he talked to reporters about that dynamic and what changed—what he changed—during the pause. Although they still lost, it worked out quite well, leading to 14 points.
“On that one, I’d actually told him at halftime, I said, ‘If we come back and I call this play, be ready’”, Rodgers said about his first touchdown to Pat Freiermuth, via the Steelers’ website. “Because I saw something on one of the pictures on the sideline in the first half, so at halftime I pulled him aside. I didn’t think it’d be 3rd and 18 from the 19, but they clouded pretty hard to DK [Metcalf] and Pat did a nice job down the middle. And it was really the same play on the second touchdown”.
As you can see from the replays, Freiermuth’s two touchdowns feature similar alignments in similar contexts. Both are 2nd or 3rd and long, though in one case, they were in the red zone. They are four-wide in both formations, though one in 11 personnel, one in 12. Freiermuth is in the left slot and hits an in-breaking route at 10 yards.
And the Bengals botched it, twice, with disastrous results. The first time, the Steelers converted a 3rd and 18 from the 19 to make it a one-score game. The second time, they converted on 2nd and 20 for a 68-yard touchdown to take the lead. And Pat Freiermuth now has two career 100-yard games—both against the Bengals.
Going into the game, the Steelers downplayed Freiermuth’s past success against Cincinnati. OC Arthur Smith reasoned, the Bengals have a different defensive coordinator, so it’s a different defense. But Aaron Rodgers saw something they could exploit, and he helped put it into the game plan in the second half.
Good thing he did, because it very nearly saved the Steelers’ day. It was on the defense for being unable to hold up its end. When you score 31 points, you should win about 100 percent of the time.
The defense will clean things up, though, hopefully. More significant is the potential for Pat Freiermuth to return to a more prominent role in the offense. Despite his lack of contributions, though, he never soured, Rodgers says. “His playtime’s gone down, but his attitude hasn’t”.
And true to his nature, Freiermuth downplayed his individual success on the day. “It doesn’t really mean much” without winning, he said. He’s right about last night, but if it means they’ve found ways to help him help them win more games this season, then it means a great deal.
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