The Pittsburgh Steelers have exploded on offense during this four-game winning streak. While they haven't scored nearly as much as everyone hoped, the run game has proven to be stable and consistent, which helps keep the team out of three-and-out situations. These long offensive drives help keep the defense fresh and able to wreak havoc in the backfield each drive. There are still some issues that need to be fixed, but Pittsburgh has the right formula for playoff football: run the ball with authority and shut down the rush attack on the other side.
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Jaylen Warren jumps into the end zone after scoring a 50-yard touchdown against the Colts.
The passing game has not been consistent, however. Between Aaron Rodgers making questionable reads and his receivers constantly dropping passes, it's still very hard to consider this team to be a Super Bowl contender. The occasional great game from DK Metcalf doesn't justify the Steelers spamming sideline fades intended for him, as they never work anymore.
The Steelers should be able to see that these fades don't work, and insider Ray Fittipaldo believes the same. In his weekly Q&A chat, he explained what is likely going on behind the scenes.
"The fades are Rodgers force-feeding [DK Metcalf] the ball," Fittipaldo said. "I cannot imagine Mike McCarthy sits back in meetings and thinks that's a good idea. And it's weird because Rodgers is such a stickler for details. Some of these balls aren't even catchable. They're landing out of bounds and Metcalf isn't even looking for the ball. I certainly think that's something they're talking about during the bye week."
Rodgers obviously has a lot of power to change the plays at the line of scrimmage. If he sees Metcalf in one-on-one coverage, the quarterback likes to audible out of the play and just throw up a quick fade to him in the hopes that he gets by the cornerback and can make something happen in space. At a certain point in time, though, you just have to accept that something isn't working and scrap it for a while.
Metcalf has not shown any ability to get by man coverage and win these one-on-one matchups. Rodgers should know this by now, but he keeps lobbing these passes out of bounds while expecting the receiver to break this trend multiple times per game. At this point, it's almost confirmed to be an incompletion before the ball is even snapped any time the 42-year-old checks out of the play to run a fade.
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Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers (8) looks to throw a pass during a Week 7 game against the Saints in Paris, France.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy most likely doesn't have a problem with Rodgers changing the play at the line of scrimmage, but they still need to have this conversation about the fade routes. It doesn't matter if the defense is in a single-high look; Pittsburgh can't keep spamming these plays and hoping that this next time will be different. It's the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Steelers Need To Talk To Rodgers About Other Problems
Fades to Metcalf aren't the only problem that Rodgers has. So often, the Steelers will get into the red zone, and he will constantly check out of the run game. It has been extremely frustrating for fans to watch the veteran abandon the game plan in the red zone.
Rodgers' decision to try and force passes to the end zone has turned touchdowns into field goals. It has been okay for now, but against stiffer competition, leaving four points on the board like that constantly will turn wins into losses. The 42-year-old needs to just swallow his pride and do what's best for the team. He needs to keep relying on the run game and not call these poor goal-line pass plays or fades to Metcalf.
What do you think about Rodgers and McCarthy talking about these poor plays during the bye week? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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