A year ago, Aaron Rodgers engineered a drive at Gillette Stadium that helped the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the team that went on to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
asserted
that → engineer → Bowl
That version of Rodgers wasn’t anywhere to be found in Sunday’s 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots.
asserted
version → find → Patriots
Instead, the future Hall of Famer looked every bit like a 42-year-old playing his last NFL season.
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Hall → look → season
Rodgers wasn’t solely to blame.
asserted
Rodgers → blame → ?
The Steelers’ offensive line surrendered four sacks, while veteran wide receiver DK Metcalf had another rough day.
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Metcalf → surrender → day
But Rodgers pointed to his own shortcomings.
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Rodgers → point → shortcomings
“As players, we’ve got to take ownership.
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we → get → ownership
My performance wasn’t good enough and a lot of guys on offense weren’t good enough,” Rodgers said after finishing 23 of 39 for 187 yards.
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Rodgers → say → yards
“We’ve got to start by looking at ourselves, not point the finger.
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We → get → finger
Through two games, Rodgers has thrown one touchdown pass in 79 attempts.
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Rodgers → throw → attempts
The offensive issues that plagued coach Mike McCarthy’s Steelers during their Week 1 win over Atlanta showed up again.
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that → plague → Atlanta
During the second quarter, New England’s Christian Elliss delivered a blind-side sack of Rodgers, leading to a 36-yard loss.
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Elliss → deliver → loss
Rodgers shrugged off the hard hit.
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Rodgers → shrug → hit
“I’ve learned you’ve got to get up quickly, number one, so they don’t send anybody out to get you,” Rodgers said.
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Rodgers → learn → you
I haven’t taken too many of those in our career because usually I have a feeling if we’re picked up or not picked up.
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we → take → feeling
Pittsburgh still had its chances in New England’s home opener.
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Pittsburgh → have → opener
Drake Maye was intercepted on the first series of the second half, and the Patriots’ Andy Borregales missed a field-goal attempt from 47 yards.
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Borregales → intercept → yards
The Steelers failed to turn either of those opportunities into points.
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Steelers → fail → points
Following the New England turnover, Rodgers misfired on third-and-6, leading to a punt.
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Rodgers → follow → punt
After the missed kick, Metcalf dropped a pass on third down.
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Metcalf → miss → down
Metcalf caught only four of his nine targets for 27 yards.
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Metcalf → catch → yards
“It’s frustrating, for sure,” Rodgers said.
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Rodgers → ’ → ?
“Our defense has been playing great.
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defense → play → ?
They’ve been holding teams to 13 points per game through two games, and offensively, we’re averaging eight points per game.
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we → hold → game
That’s not winning football.”
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That → win → football
With Pittsburgh trailing 13-3 in the fourth quarter, Christian Barmore sacked Rodgers, leading to a fumble and a 19-yard scoop-and-score by Elijah Ponder.
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Barmore → trail → Ponder
Later in the quarter, the Steelers turned it over again when rookie Germie Bedard failed to secure a pass from Rodgers and Patriots rookie Gabe Jacas came away with the interception.
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Jacas → turn → interception
“He created some separation, made some contested catches, and then made a rookie play,” Rodgers said of Bedard.
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Rodgers → create → Bedard
“He’s a good kid, and cares about it.
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He → ’ → it
We’re going to need him to keep improving.”
asserted
him → go → ?
The Aporia
