Aaron Rodgers got pulled for the final drive of a 20-3 loss in New England. By Monday the question was on national television: would Pittsburgh actually bench him?
The answer is no. The reason is more interesting than the question.
The Game Was Ugly
The Steelers managed 235 total yards. Rodgers went 23-of-39 for 187 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, and he was sacked four times. One of those sacks produced a fumble that New England returned for a touchdown.
Then McCarthy sat him for the last possession. That is the kind of decision that starts a week of speculation whether it was meant to or not.
McCarthy Pointed at Himself
What McCarthy said afterward is the part worth reading twice.
“Defense played well enough to win the game. Offense needs to be better. Mike McCarthy needs to be better,” he said.
He followed it with a specific diagnosis: “We have to give Aaron better platforms to throw off of, because I don’t want to dink-and-dunk all day.”
Coaches who are building a case to bench a quarterback do not take the blame in public and then describe the fix as a scheme problem. That is a coach protecting his guy.
The History Here Is the Whole Story
Mike Tomlin stepped down in January after 19 seasons. Pittsburgh hired McCarthy. Rodgers, who reportedly recommended McCarthy for the job, then signed a one-year deal to come back rather than retire.
These two spent 13 seasons together in Green Bay, made nine playoff trips and won a Super Bowl. Rodgers is 42 and has confirmed this is his final season, his 22nd. They reunited in Pittsburgh for one specific reason, and it was not to hand the offense to Mason Rudolph in Week 3.
ESPN Called It an Overreaction Too
Dan Graziano raised the question in his Week 2 overreactions column and then shot it down. His argument: McCarthy is not benching Rodgers in his final season, the two of them came to Pittsburgh chasing a title together, and the actual problems are the run game and pass protection.
He is right. Rudolph is the backup, Will Howard is the emergency third quarterback, and Drew Allar has been inactive. None of that is a plan.
What Pittsburgh Has to Fix
The Steelers are 1-1. The defense is holding up. The offense produced three points against New England and put Rodgers on his back four times.
A 42-year-old quarterback in his 22nd season is not going to escape pressure or extend plays the way he did a decade ago. If McCarthy wants a better version of Rodgers, he has to build an offense that does not require one.
That is exactly what McCarthy said Sunday night. Now he has to do it, quickly, before one bad game in New England turns into a pattern.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.