It turns out the Steelers were screwed all along without Aaron Rodgers behind center. Who knew? The Bears 'owner', as he's so delicately put it, missed Sunday's game in Chicago with a wrist injury. Mason Rudolph started as a result, and by now you all know how THAT went down.
It's tough to blame Rudolph – or anyone on this offense, for that matter – for how they performed on Sunday without Rodgers, who has accumulated nearly 7,000 passing yards, 64 touchdowns and 10 interceptions against the team Pittsburgh lost to in Week 12. This should've been Rodgers coming out party, but instead he was stuck on the sidelines pointing out the Steelers' formation flaws to his own teammates.
What Aaron Rodgers saw in Steelers offense that Mike Tomlin didn't
The Steelers were driving, down just three points in the fourth quarter and facing a pivotal third down. Backup quarterback Mason Rudolph snapped the ball, read the defense and eventually ran for a first down and more, which would've set the Steelers up closer to midfield at the two-minute warning. Instead, Pittsburgh was called for illegal formation.
Had Rodgers been playing, this is something he clearly could've identified. I hardly blame Rudolph for failing to recognize the Steelers mistake in real time. That's what makes Rodgers a Hall-of-Fame talent, and Rudolph a second stringer at best.
Aaron Rodgers knew it was an illegal formation pre-snap #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/XK1tqpILGq
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) November 23, 2025
What made matters worse for Rodgers is that he couldn't call timeout for his team on the sideline. In order for that to happen, he – or a group of Steelers players – would've had to get the coaching staff's attention. More importantly to this discussion, isn't it the coaching staff's job to identify these problems in the first place, rather than their injured starting QB who is supposed to be nursing his wrist?
While players ought to know better when it comes to lining up at the line of scrimmage, any pre-snap penalties that don't involve a player jumping offsides ultimately fall on Tomlin and his coaches. If Rodgers can spot it on the sideline, then his veteran head coach ought to have noticed as well. This isn't breaking news.
Why Steelers fans are tired of Mike Tomlin
Steelers fans are tired of Tomlin for a litany of reasons, much of which I won't even get to in this article. First, they consistently finish in NFL purgatory – never good enough to win a playoff game, but never bad enough to land in the top-10 of the draft to select franchise-altering talent – and have shown a stunning lack of direction for the last half-decade.
On a more game-to-game basis, it is moments like these that could eventually force Tomlin out. With a backup quarterback in the game, Tomlin and his coaching staff ought to have an eye on these things.
Heck, Tomlin screwed Rudolph over from the jump last week, refusing to name a starting quarterback until hours before the game. Rodgers took the vast majority of practice snaps with the starters all week long. Thus, Rudolph was unprepared, and that can come into play before, during and after the snap. Something as simple as a formation can go amiss. See what I'm getting at here?
Can the Steelers recover from a loss to the Bears?
As much as I'd like to be optimistic about Pittsburgh's playoff hopes, they no longer control their own destiny in the AFC North. The Ravens lost Lamar Jackson for half the season, and the same can be said about Joe Burrow. Jackson is back in the fold in Baltimore, and Burrow should return this week. The Steelers time is up, and they did little with their early-season advantage.
Pittsburgh's defense hasn't played like the highest-priced unit in the NFL. The Steelers offense, led by Rodgers, has actually performed a little better than I expected at the outset, but that is only because the bar was so low.
Their last six games are not easy, and include two matchups with Baltimore, a home contest against the Bills next week and, eventually, a trip to Detroit. They better secure victories against the Browns and Dolphins, or else this could be a long stretch run.
It's what makes avoidable losses like Sunday's all the more frustrating, and inexcusable for a team led by veterans and coached by one as well.