Mike Tomlin: No ‘long-term concerns’ about Aaron Rodgers’ play

PITTSBURGH — On the heels of Aaron Rodgers’ worst game as a Steeler, coach Mike Tomlin said he doesn’t have any “long-term reservations” about the quarterback’s ability to play the position “at a high level.”

Rodgers threw one touchdown and two interceptions in Sunday night’s 25-10 loss to the Chargers and completed just 52.6% of his attempts, marking his lowest completion percentage in a game over the past five seasons when he attempted at least two passes, according to ESPN Research.

“Sunday night was what it was,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “But I have no long-term reservations about his ability to play the position and play the position at a high level for us.”

Rodgers, 41, also took three sacks against the Chargers, including one in the end zone by Khalil Mack for a safety in the first half.

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“I’m not going to chalk it up to an off night, but there are no long-term concerns,” Tomlin said of Rodgers’ performance.

Tomlin later was asked if Rodgers’ struggles could be attributed to Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter or another factor, since he didn’t consider it an “off night” but also didn’t have “long-term concerns.”

“I’m just not going to allow your words to be my words, that’s all,” Tomlin responded.

Rodgers, however, said himself after the game that he felt it was an uncharacteristic performance.

“A lot of stuff wasn’t working,” Rodgers said Sunday. “We were bad on third down. I was just a little bit off. … I missed, obviously, some throws, for sure. And then we weren’t getting guys open and just put it all together times the guys were open. I missed some throws I usually make.”

Just three weeks earlier, Rodgers completed 23 of 34 attempts for a season-high 249 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions against the Bengals, who the Steelers host in a rematch Sunday. In that game, running back Jaylen Warren also exploded for 127 yards on 16 carries and a season-high 7.9 yards per carry.

After the loss to the Chargers, Rodgers advocated for Warren to get more touches. The fourth-year back had 14 carries for 70 yards against the Chargers, averaging 5 yards per carry. He has 474 rushing yards, three total touchdowns and is averaging 4.2 yards per carry this season.

“Jaylen made some really nice plays,” Rodgers said Sunday. “He’s a talented guy. We got to give him more touches.”

Warren, though, was out-snapped by Kenneth Gainwell 26-23 against the Chargers, though Gainwell didn’t have a carry and had two receptions on three targets for 4 yards. Warren had two catches on two targets for 21 yards.

Tomlin attributed Warren’s snap count to a lack of drive-sustaining third-down conversions. The Steelers were 2-for-11 on third down against the Chargers and rank 26th in the league converting on just 36% of their third downs. The Steelers also rank last with an average of 55 offensive plays per game, down from 62.6 a year ago.

“We win more third downs, we’ll get Jaylen more touches,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “It’s as simple as that. Jaylen was having the trajectory of a good day in L.A., but we didn’t convert enough third downs for you to really, really feel it.”

Warren didn’t play a single third down, and Tomlin rebuffed the idea that Warren could replace Gainwell as the primary third-down back.

“I’m comfortable with both backs in possession-down ball,” Tomlin said. “Not taking anything away from Jaylen. He plays a lot on first and second down. You got to give him opportunities to catch a break, and so sometimes it’s on third down, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes we’ll give other ball carriers the start of a possession.

“He just simply cannot play every down, but I’m completely comfortable utilizing both guys on possession-down play.”