The Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t pull off a win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football, but it was a quarterback duel for the ages (no pun intended) with Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco turning back the clock. Rodgers threw for 249 yards and four touchdowns, and in an episode of The QB School, former NFL QB J.T. O’Sullivan called the performance “vintage Rodgers.”
“I thought it was vintage Rodgers. I really did. Extending, creating, arm strength. You can see him in real time diagnose what they’re doing to DK Metcalf and take advantage of it a number of times, ripping those seams. Pretty damn fun. Really, pretty damn impressive, first of all. The arm talent, the ability to continue to rip it. But the ability to extend, create, move, the way he’s playing the game at a really high level. That was a fun film,” O’Sullivan said.
Rodgers’ mobility was one of the bigger standouts from the game. He admitted that he was tight early in the season but felt more like himself after the Steelers’ Week 5 bye, and he moved like it on Thursday. To be fair, the Bengals’ lackluster pass rush certainly helped matters, but Rodgers was able to evade defenders and create time for him to throw.
Really, it’s been a pretty solid year for Rodgers. Against Cincinnati, he had one bad interception on an overthrown ball to DK Metcalf, and turnovers have been a little bit of an issue, as he had a bad one in Week 3 against the Patriots and also threw two in Week 2 against Seattle. But he’s been comfortable and played pretty well otherwise. While the Steelers’ offense hasn’t really stressed him too much, he’s been able to take his shots downfield when he needs to, and he’s done a good job reading the defense and getting the ball out quickly.
Thursday night, with the Steelers trailing, Rodgers had to push the ball downfield more. He had a lot of zip on the ball and was accurate with it. Even his Hail Mary, which fell incomplete, had the most air yards since 2017 with 69.8, per Next Gen Stats.
While the Steelers might not necessarily need him to, Rodgers proved he can be effective pushing the ball downfield and running an offense that isn’t so predicated on yards after the catch. He looked like a quarterback who could win a playoff game, and that’s what the Steelers need him to be. Despite the defense letting him down in a loss, Rodgers did a great job.
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