The Pittsburgh Steelers may have played their worst game of 2025 in Week 10. On Sunday Night Football, they laid a massive egg in a 25-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Murphy's Law seemed to take effect here: whatever could go wrong did in the contest. That was the kind of performance that has fans mashing the panic button, as the team never once played up to its ability on either side of the ball. The collective can still rebound, but it will be a brutal week for the whole team in practice.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin looks on during loss to the Bengals in the 2024 NFL season.
In the post-game press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked about his quarterback's struggles during the game. He responded by doing everything he could to not outright say that he was awful.
"We as an offensive collective were off today, and certainly [Aaron Rodgers] is a component of that," Tomlin said. "I'll let him speak for himself, but we certainly got to be better. Didn't feel like [the Chargers] did anything unanticipated, but certainly outperformed us, particularly in possession-down play."
Tomlin did not want to throw Aaron Rodgers under the bus, but he had one of the single worst games of his NFL career. He was 16/31 passing for 161 yards, two interceptions, and a garbage time touchdown. A large chunk of his yards came in the fourth quarter, when the game was already lost. Some stat padding made things not look as bleak as they really were.
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Steelers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks at his play sheet during training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Rodgers was overthrowing his receivers constantly. His first interception led directly to a Chargers touchdown right before halftime, as a manageable 5-3 game quickly became 12-3, and it spiraled out of control from there. Even with a bad drop by Calvin Austin III, the failure of this offense starts with the man under center, but Tomlin kept dancing around that fact.
Rodgers also took three sacks where he had time to get rid of it but never did, including one in the end zone for a safety. Everything about him was messed up in this game. This was not the same Rodgers that put up 30+ points a couple of times in 2025. This was the version of him that everyone saw with the New York Jets, and the one that some fans feared that the Steelers would get.
Steelers' Next Game Will Dictate How Much To Panic On Rodgers
He can certainly still bounce back. This is not Rodgers' first awful game he's ever had. It's not like him to airmail almost every pass he throws, so that should get cleaned up. In fact, he has the perfect chance to prove how good he really is with the upcoming Week 11 game. He will be facing statistically the worst defense in the NFL: the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Steelers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws the football during an away game against the Bengals in the 2025 NFL season.
Despite losing 33-31 in that game, Rodgers overall had a great day in that road contest. He threw four touchdown passes in that matchup, and he made some plays where he had to roll out and not just get the ball out quickly. That was the version of him that the Steelers were expecting, and if there is any time to see that come out, it's Week 11.
If Rodgers does continue having issues against that defense, then it will be time to hit the panic button, and Tomlin won't be able to dance around his quarterback's poor performance or get snippy with the media for asking the obvious questions. Hopefully, that does not happen, but if it does, it's going to maker for some extremely stressful weeks as the season continues to progress. Fans will find out very soon if this game was a fluke or not.
What do you think about Tomlin refusing to answer the question about Rodgers' struggles? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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