Up 3-0 midway through the first quarter and facing a 3rd and 7 from the 9-yard line in his own end, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers dropped back to pass and then did something he’s very rarely done in his career: made a mind-numbingly bad decision by trying to extend the play and taking a sack for a safety.
Rodgers tried to step up in the pocket, then bailed backwards and went right into the arms of Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who beat Steelers right tackle Troy Fautanu on a second effort, making it a 3-2 game.
Typically, Rodgers gets rid of the football, but for some reason in that moment, he tried to extend the play and made a bad decision even worse, running into his own end zone, leading to the sack and the two points.
After the 25-10 loss to the Chargers in which he had his worst game of the season, Rodgers explained what happened on the safety.
“I didn’t really see anybody open and I felt like when I stepped up, I saw Mack, and I didn’t realize that he had kind of lost touch with Troy,” Rodgers said, according to video via Steelers.com. “I should just throw the ball at somebody’s feet there.”
Getting guys open was a major challenge throughout the night for the Steelers as Rodgers had to hold onto the football and move around in the pocket at times. It led to Rodgers getting sacked three times, which might have created some happy feet for the 41-year-old quarterback.
His footwork was a mess in the pocket, and it led to a number of missed throws on a night in which he played as poorly as he ever has in his career.
Rodgers had a bad miss to DK Metcalf early in the game in which Metcalf was wide open behind the secondary for what should have been a walk-in touchdown. He overthrew it.
On the very next drive, the Steelers were pinned deep and went with two straight runs to rookie running back Kaleb Johnson. They didn’t go anywhere, setting up the 3rd and 7. Then, Rodgers made the mistake, giving the Chargers a pair of points — and some momentum.
After that, things seemed to spiral for Rodgers. The safety really wasn’t on Fautanu. He wasn’t great in pass protection on the play, but he got enough of Mack to give Rodgers time to throw it away. Instead, Rodgers backtracked into his own end zone and Mack finished the play.
As Rodgers said, he should have thrown it at someone’s feet. Instead, he held the ball and tried to make a play, and it cost the Steelers.
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