For the third time in four weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped a game on national television.
Their latest loss came at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers, who took the easy 25-10 win over the Steelers, dropping them to 5-4.
Steelers fans did their part to invade SoFi Stadium, but those in black and yellow could only watch in disappointment as quarterback Aaron Rodgers put up, by far, his worst game as a Steeler, and the offense couldn’t get anything going whatsoever.
A lot went wrong for the Steelers out west, but in the end, they looked like a team that just had no fight. The Chargers came out ready to go, and the Steelers looked like their batteries were dead from the very first snap. No amount of settling in or breaks could jumpstart the offense, and the defense couldn’t find the splash plays that powered their performance a week ago.
I have some additional thoughts as well, so let’s get into it.
1: Aaron Rodgers…
Rodgers was not good early on. He missed an open DK Metcalf on a pass deep down the field, he held onto the ball for too long and was ultimately brought down for the safety, and he overthrew a wide open Jonnu Smith that forced the tight end to leap up and fail to make the grab.
But his biggest gaffe of the first half was a second overthrow to Metcalf, where he tried to force it in a tight window and ended up launching it into the hands of LA’s RJ Mickens. He finished the first half 7-of-14 for 64 yards, and an interception.
At halftime, you would have hoped that Rodgers could reset, come back out, and help make this a competitive game. Instead, he continued to flounder on the field. His final stat line was 16-of-31 for 161 yards, one touchdown, and two picks. The second interception was not his fault, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.
At the five minute mark in the fourth, he had a passer rating of 19.5. Yes, you read that right. Rodgers has been a pleasant surprise pretty much all season. He’s played admirably behind an offensive line that has not given him a ton of time or space.
But last night, he was legitimately terrible. Later mistakes included more skittishness in the pocket and a ball that sailed over Kenneth Gainwell’s head on a third down in the red zone.
That miss right there was particularly crucial. Though a completed pass there might not have earned the Steelers a first down, it would have made the impending fourth down play much easier to manage. Instead, with six yards to go on fourth down, Rodgers had to try and force a pass to Metcalf in a tight window, which did not work.
It was a legitimately awful night for Rodgers.
2: National Nightmares
Of course, “a legitimately awful night” is something that can also be said about the entire team. And it’s part of a pattern the Steelers have showed over the last month or so.
Three of the last four Steelers games have been on national television, and they have been embarrassed each and every time. Back in Week 7, Rodgers and the Steelers lost in that shootout in Cincinnati against 40-year-old Joe Flacco and the Bengals. While the offense displayed a lot to like, their defense allowed 33 points and 470 total yards, including a game-winning field goal drive after the Steelers had went up 31-30.
Then, the Steelers were featured on Sunday Night Football, in a home matchup that pitted Rodgers against his old team, the Green Bay Packers. That game saw poor performances from both sides of the ball, and much of the offense’s production came in garbage time minutes. The 15-point loss had the Steelers on official “fraud alert.”
Last week, they actually played well. Like, really well. They topped the 7-1 Indianapolis Colts, and their defense in particular looked as dominant as they ever have, with six turnovers and forcing the complete self-destruction of Daniel Jones. But, only a fraction of the country watched that happen in real time.
This week, back in the nation’s view with another Sunday night game, the Steelers utterly humiliated themselves against the Chargers. Their offense could only muster ten total points in a mistake-filled, maddening loss.
This is not to say that the Steelers have some sort of aversion to playing in national games. I mean, these guys are professionals, I don’t think it matters all that much.
But maybe these games have shown the NFL and the football world that the Steelers are not a team to be taken seriously. They are not a threat to win the AFC North, even if they momentarily still have the lead. They are not a serious playoff contender, even if they still hold a wild card spot and some tiebreakers. And they are not a good football team, even if (for now) they have a winning record.
If you’re the average fan, how could you come away with any takeaways besides those?
3: The WR2 Problem
The hunt and debate over a WR2 has raged on for well over a year now. Last season, after the Steelers traded Diontae Johnson to Carolina and missed out on the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes, the team had no true threat lined up alongside George Pickens in the receiving game.
It worked for a while, until it didn’t. In the offseason, the Steelers swung a trade for DK Metcalf out of Seattle. Perfect, now they have two terrific weapons in the pass game, this is going to be…oh, they traded Pickens to Dallas for draft picks. And never brought in anyone to replace him. Huh.
Look, whether you were pro or anti-Pickens, the lack of a true second wide receiver is still a weakness on this team. Calvin Austin hasn’t stepped into that role. Neither has Roman Wilson.
It’s why the Steelers were linked to names like Jakobi Meyers, Chris Olave, Raheed Shaheed, and more. The deadline came and went, and the only player the Steelers picked up was Marquez Valdez-Scantling, who was scooped out of free agency and placed on the practice squad.
You saw it play out again last night. Metcalf was double-teamed constantly, limiting his impact on the field. He finished with just three catches on seven targets for 35 yards. And until opposing defenses feel they need to worry about someone else, they’ll focus on neutralizing Metcalf.
Austin finished with two catches for a measly 14 yards, and tipped an interception off his hands. Wilson caught a meaningless pass at the end of the first half, and a garbage time touchdown on a slant late in the game. They were not threats in the passing game.
Rodgers may have had a really bad night, but that doesn’t excuse the lack of threat the offense’s receivers have.
4: The WR2 Debate
I suppose that a game like this opens up an important dialogue though: was this Steelers team worth going all in?
Back when the Steelers officially signed Rodgers to a deal, they certainly weren’t bringing him in with the idea of taking a step back this season. Regardless of if taking an off-year was the correct step for the franchise, the arrival of Rodgers sent a message loud and clear. The 2025 Steelers were here to compete.
The early returns on that mission were great. The Steelers were 4-1 on the season at one point, and their only loss was fueled in part by a bad kickoff blunder. Besides, Seattle is looking pretty good right about now at 7-2; there’s no shame in dropping one to the Seahawks.
But, when you looked at Pittsburgh’s wins during that run, they really hadn’t played anyone all that powerful. They narrowly beat the Jets in New York, handing them their first of seven straight losses to open the year. They took down New England, which is very impressive, but has an asterisk when you consider that the Patriots lost four fumbles and turned the ball over five times in the loss.
Wins against backup Carson Wentz and Minnesota in Dublin, and then at home vs the now 2-7 Cleveland Browns gave the Steelers four relatively easy wins.
Now that the competition has kicked it up a notch, the Steelers have often not been able to match it. A highly dangerous offense in Cincinnati, a more complete Packers team, and a rolling Chargers team have all beat them.
Were the Steelers frauds at 4-1? Seeing how they stack up against tougher teams, was it worth it to throw draft picks out to try and salvage this year? Those are some of the questions that will swirl around this team. It’s going to be a long week.
5: James Pierre, Mad Man
There really wasn’t a lot to like about this game. But if there’s a highlight for the Steelers, it’s cornerback James Pierre destroying Chargers wide receiver Derius Davis.
It’s so rare you see an NFL player get picked up and put down like this. I don’t think Pierre initially meant to fully go all WWE on him, but at least it turned out to be a pretty cool highlight!
Injuries pushed Pierre into a bigger role than initially anticipated in this game, but I thought he played decently given the circumstances.
Hopefully, that tackle is one they can show in the film room.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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