The Pittsburgh Steelers put forth an embarrassing performance on Sunday night as the team lost to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 25-10. This is the second time the team has seemingly failed to show up during a primetime game, and this could wind up being a critical loss as both the Steelers and the Chargers could be fighting for playoff seeding by the time the end of the year rolls around. It would have been nice to see a better performance from Pittsburgh due to the stakes of a game like this within the AFC, but the offense just could not figure things out against L.A.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers prepares to throw downfield during Pittsburgh's 25-10 loss vs the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10 of the 2025 NFL Season.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers played the worst game of his Steelers tenure so far, and the veteran just never looked comfortable in the contest. He faced constant pressure and when he had time, he was missing throws. Both he and Head Coach Mike Tomlin were somewhat critical of his play following the loss.
Team insider Mark Kaboly joined 93.7 The Fan on Tuesday morning and he believes the poor play from the offensive line played a role in Rodgers' down performance.
"I know the line didn't play as well," Kaboly said. "I mean the back shoulder throw to DK Metcalf in the end zone on fourth down, I called that as soon as they came up to the line of scrimmage because I knew that they weren't going to have any confidence in him going back and being able to read the defense and not get snowed over by about four different Chargers. You saw that coming. I think a lot of that had to do with some of the offensive line woes, especially early in the game. And he was off. They weren't on the same page too."
Pittsburgh's offensive line was facing some adversity on Sunday as starting left guard Isaac Seumalo was out due to a pectoral injury. Spencer Anderson started in his place and gave up four pressures in the game, and second-year tackle Troy Fautanu also played arguably the worst game of his career.
Karl Roser / pittsburgh Steelers
Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier work on blocking drills during Organized Team Activities (OTAs).
The Steelers have a young group along the offensive line, and the unit is expected to continue to get better. However, Sunday night was a step backwards. The young core played poorly and that made Rodgers feel uncomfortable. Kaboly speculated that is what led to the turnover on downs at the start of the fourth quarter as Rodgers threw the ball immediately on a covered fade to DK Metcalf because he didn't think he would have enough time to do anything else. That is a problem. The quarterback needs to be able to trust the offensive line, and the group is not giving him any reason to feel like he can.
It was always known that the offensive line is going to be the deciding factor for a how good an offense led by a 41-year old Rodgers could be, and right now, things are not looking great.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Aaron Rodgers warms up before playing the Cincinnati Bengals on the road during the 2025 season.
Steelers Can Get Back On Track Going Against The Cincinnati Bengals
Pittsburgh is in the midst of an offensive slump, but the team will be taking on the Cincinnati Bengals at home in Week 11. The Bengals currently have the 32nd ranked defensive in both points and yards allowed, so hopefully the offense for the Steelers can come out and put up a good performance to regain some confidence. The offensive line can get back on track, receivers can get open, and Rodgers can dial in his game which should hopefully set the unit on the right path moving forward. Pittsburgh's offense had a great game against Cincinnati the first time around, and the unit should hope that trend continues as the Steelers have a rough stretch of games coming up.
What do you think about Rodgers seemingly not trusting his offensive line? Let us know in the comments below!
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