Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers were unable to come through with a big-time win in Week 13, falling to the Buffalo Bills by a final score of 26-7.
There weren’t many positives to take away from the loss. Now, the Steelers hold a 6-6 record, tied for the AFC North division lead with the Baltimore Ravens. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh is currently holding second place in the division.
Over the last few weeks, the Steelers have not looked anything like a contender. Rodgers has not been pleased with the way his team has been playing.
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The future Hall of Fame quarterback believes that a big part of the problem has to do with some players not buying in during the week. He has never been shy to call out teammates when he feels they’re not playing their part.
Following Rodgers’ comments, a former NFL quarterback spoke out with some harsh words about the 42-year-old signal caller.
During an appearance on “PFT Live,” Chris Simms did not hold back his opinion on Rodgers. He thinks the star quarterback has done more harm than good with his comments.
“I don’t like some of his antics on the field,” Simms said. “I don’t think it speaks to leadership. He loves to yell at everybody else. He never yells at himself. There’s no anger shown when he makes a mistake, but when someone doesn’t make the right cut at an acute angle the way he wants, then he’s pissed as hell. And yeah, I think it’s starting to unravel there in Pittsburgh.”
Rodgers has caught a lot of criticism over the years for his brutal honesty. He holds teammates to a high level of accountability and is not scared to publicly call out players who don’t live up to his expectations.
That form of leadership can be productive, but it also can be harmful. Simms believes that Rodgers’ comments could make things much worse on Pittsburgh.
“To me, it’s the last thing they need right now,” Simms said. “We’ve got enough questioning them on the football field and how (expletive) they look there. Now we’re gonna go into everything with Pittsburgh, and they’ve opened up Pandora’s box.”
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Only time will tell how the team can rebound from its recent ways of losing. The Steelers badly need to get back on track this week.
Next up for Pittsburgh is a Week 14 matchup on the road against the Baltimore Ravens. It will be a crucial game when it comes to the race for the AFC North division title.
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