Key Takeaways
- Aaron Rodgers unleashed an expletive-filled sideline tirade while the Steelers trailed the Bengals, though neither he nor the team explained what triggered it.
- Rodgers still powered Pittsburgh to a 30-27 comeback win, completing 19 of 34 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns.
- After rebounding from a three-point loss to New England, Rodgers said the offense had “a lot of things to clean up” despite producing more than 400 yards and 30 points.
Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns, led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, and still found plenty to complain about. Cameras caught the four-time NFL MVP unleashing an expletive-filled tirade at Pittsburgh's sideline, apparently unimpressed with something happening on the field.
With the Steelers trailing 27-24 early in the fourth quarter, Rodgers was filmed directing some colorful language toward someone on the sideline.
“That motherf*cking sucks a**,” Rodgers appeared to say, according to Us Weekly. “F*cking sucks ass.”
The exact target of Rodgers' frustration remains unclear, although some fans speculated that the 42-year-old quarterback was unhappy with the Steelers' play-calling.
Neither Rodgers nor the team has publicly identified what prompted the outburst.
Whatever was bothering him, it didn't prevent Pittsburgh from finishing the job. The Steelers rallied for a 30-27 victory, with Rodgers completing 19 of 34 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns.
It was quite the turnaround for an offense that had spent the previous week getting thoroughly embarrassed by the New England Patriots.
Pittsburgh managed just three points in its Week 2 loss, with Rodgers failing to throw a touchdown pass. The performance was so bad that former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski questioned whether the veteran quarterback already regretted his decision to return for another season.
“Aaron Rodgers is probably thinking that he should have retired last year,” Gronkowski told former teammate Julian Edelman on The Gronk & Jules Show.
Gronkowski wasn't particularly impressed with Pittsburgh's offense, either.
“I mean, there's just no juice on that offensive side of the ball,” he said, pointing out that Rodgers had thrown just one touchdown through the Steelers' first two games.
Rodgers answered those criticisms against Cincinnati, although his postgame assessment suggested he wasn't entirely satisfied with the results.
“There's overreactions when we put up three points and look like dog… you know what,” Rodgers told reporters. “We had a nice game today. We put up over 400 yards and 30 points, and it could have been a lot more.”
He also acknowledged that Pittsburgh still had work to do, citing dropped passes and missed assignments while crediting the team for improving its execution.
“We've got to be critical of some things. There's a lot of things to clean up,” he said. “But I thought it was a tighter week for us mentally, as far as execution-wise.”
And football hasn't been the only source of headlines for Rodgers lately.
Rodgers also challenged ex-fiancée Shailene Woodley's previous account of their breakup, offering his own version of how their engagement unraveled.
The latest controversy comes as Rodgers insists this will be his final NFL season. After signing a one-year, $22 million guaranteed contract to return to Pittsburgh, he declared at training camp that there was “zero debate” about retiring after 2026.
