Stuck in the middle: Steelers keep chasing wins, not a future

Early in the fourth quarter of the Steelers-Chargers game on Sunday night, Pittsburgh was making a rare foray into Los Angeles territory.

On third down, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers took the snap, dropped back, waited a beat, and, with a Chargers defender bearing down on him, tossed the ball in the direction of running back Kenneth Gainwell in the flat. It sailed high, incomplete.

The Steelers went for it on fourth down, and Rodgers tried a no-hope fade to a tightly covered DK Metcalf in the end zone. Incomplete again. The Chargers, with a 15-3 lead, took over on downs and scored a touchdown to increase their lead to 22-3. Ball game.

That fourth-down throw rightly drew criticism postgame, and Rodgers admitted that he should've looked to the other side of the field instead of locking in on a receiver who wasn't open. Still, it was the third-down play that was truly alarming. Rodgers had started spinning away from contact before the ball was out of his hand, and the pass to an open Gainwell wasn't close.

On the one hand, this is understandable. Rodgers is 41 years old, had his Achilles reconstructed two seasons ago, and can't move like he once did. He almost certainly doesn't recover from big hits like he did in his youth. It's no wonder he's trying to avoid getting walloped.

But also, that's kind of the gig. Hanging in the pocket and taking a hit is sometimes necessary for an NFL quarterback, even if it hurts. (This is among the many reasons why I'm not an NFL quarterback.)

Asked to assess Rodgers' performance after the game, coach Mike Tomlin glowered at the reporter and offered a what-do-you-think nonanswer. Not great!

That fourth-quarter sequence, though, showed Rodgers' limitations. To his credit, he's been better than expected this season, proving he can still make some nice throws and still knows how to take care of the ball. However, that aversion to contact means he makes a lot of quick, short throws. Rodgers' air yards per completion (3.7) are the lowest of any qualified NFL quarterback in 2025 and about half of what they were during some of his better campaigns in Green Bay.

None of that is particularly surprising, as Rodgers displayed some of these tendencies last year with the New York Jets. But it does raise the question of what, exactly, the Steelers thought they were doing at the quarterback position. After giving up on Kenny Pickett following two underwhelming seasons, they signed Russell Wilson and Justin Fields on cheap deals. Neither worked out. Yet instead of drafting a rookie and building around him, Pittsburgh opted for the future Hall of Famer who is well past his prime.

The Steelers also, somewhat confusingly, traded for Metcalf and handed him a giant contract extension just months before trading away receiver George Pickens, ensuring that Rodgers wouldn't have many proven receiving options. Signing a 41-year-old quarterback is a win-now move. Trading away a talented wideout who's playing for his next contract is not.

All of which leaves Pittsburgh in a curious situation. At 5-4, it's no longer the favorite to win the AFC North - not with Lamar Jackson healthy again in Baltimore - but it could still be good enough to eke out some wins and a playoff spot.

Even if they miss the postseason, the Steelers likely won't be bad enough to finish with a high-end pick in next April's draft, making it tougher to find a quarterback of the future. They would then need yet another stopgap solution. Rodgers has already said this season will probably be his last, though there have been suggestions that Pittsburgh may be open to a return. Much would, obviously, depend on how the rest of this year plays out. Another option would be to sign someone from the pool of veterans - Jimmy Garoppolo, Mac Jones - who could potentially slide in and do a competent job.

The broader question is whether the Steelers and Tomlin would ever commit to some type of rebuild. Since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, Pittsburgh has been content to muddle along, never really looking like a Super Bowl contender but decent enough to extend Tomlin's run of 18 consecutive campaigns without a losing record.

While that's quite a feat in a salary-cap world, it's also one that has kept the Steelers from getting the kind of draft capital that would allow them to select the next Roethlisberger. As such, Pittsburgh is a test case of what has become a defining question in modern pro sports: would you rather be consistently decent, or crash out so you can potentially become great?

Tomlin, evidently, has no interest in crashing out. Given his track record, he could maybe win between eight and 10 games every season with just about anyone at quarterback.

He's four wins away from another non-losing season. And the rebuild will have to wait, for at least another year.

Scott Stinson is a contributing writer for theScore.