Aaron Rodgers isn’t telling the Steelers to R-E-L-A-X. ‘I don’t feel like this team has a freak out’

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half of an NFL football match Sunday Nov in Pittsburgh AP Photo Gene J Puskar AP Gene J Puskar Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half of an NFL football championship Sunday Nov in Pittsburgh AP Photo Gene J Puskar AP Gene J Puskar PITTSBURGH AP Aaron Rodgers doesn t see the need to dip into his greatest hits to put things in perspective for the slumping Pittsburgh Steelers The quarterback who famously reported everyone in Green Bay his teammates included to R-E-L-A-X after a sluggish start has no plans to spread the same message this time around as Pittsburgh - begins the stretch run with a visit to Baltimore - on Sunday with first place in the AFC North on the line I don t feel like this unit has a freak out or a panic that I need to like send a message out to the zeitgeist that everybody requirements to just relax a little bit Rodgers stated Wednesday We ve been playing inconsistent football that s for sure Got to play better The newly minted -year-old a milestone the NFL s oldest ongoing participant hit Tuesday acknowledged the circumstances are a little different now than they were in when he felt there was an overreaction to Green Bay s - start It was still September when Rodgers stood at the podium and uttered a phrase he felt was authentic to the moment The Packers responded by winning of their final games and Rodgers easily won the second of his four MVP awards We played three games we played two teams that would turn out to be playoff teams and we went one and two and then we went on an absolute heater after that Rodgers noted Pittsburgh doesn t have that kind of time to figure things out It also doesn t have the luxury of Rodgers in his prime Still the AFC North remains there for the taking despite a nearly two-month slide that s seen the good vibes generated by a - start replaced by angst A portion of the fans who stuck around to the bitter end of a lopsided loss to Buffalo on Sunday called for longtime coach Mike Tomlin s dismissal Tomlin admitted he s just as frustrated as they are but remains optimistic the Steelers can turn things around in part because that s his job Rodgers who returned for a st season explicitly to join forces with Tomlin is similarly upbeat You kind of wait and hope for that run that you can go on to kind of get to be playing the right way come December he noted But I think from a foundational standpoint to be playing meaningful games in December is special and we need to embrace that There s nowhere to go but up Playing with a brace on his broken left wrist Rodgers connected on just of passes for yards and absorbed a game-altering sack-fumble on a crunching hit by Buffalo edge rusher Joey Bosa The completions marked a career low for a contest Rodgers both started and finished though he did take a series off while getting his busted nose patched up after getting drilled by Bosa The shaky play against the Bills wasn t a one-off Rodgers is completing just of his passes with two touchdowns two picks and two fumbles over his past quarters starting with one of the worst starts of his career against the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov Rodgers isn t ready to cede anything to age He s been doing this for a long time The spate of latest clunkers isn t the first time he s endured a slump When you have a great championship it s never as good as you think it was and when you struggle as an offense or personally it s never as bad as you think it was Rodgers declared So we re inevitably closer than we think and we re also not as great as we think we are One of the biggest issues has been the inability of one of the secondary receivers behind DK Metcalf to develop into a consistent threat It also hasn t helped that tight end Pat Freiermuth the unit s leading receiver a year ago has been relegated to a minor role player Freiermuth has played less than half of Pittsburgh s snaps and was on the field for just plays against Buffalo while finishing without a reception for the second time this season and fifth time in his career I d love to see more opportunities for Pat Rodgers commented While Freiermuth allowed that obviously it s frustrating to not be heavily involved he added he has faith in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith Just got to be able to understand my role and hopefully it changes going forward he revealed Pittsburgh signed two-time Pro Bowl receiver Adam Thielen to the practice squad on Tuesday the second time in a month they ve brought in a veteran for a look Marquez Valdes-Scantling has yet to get off the practice squad Thielen was disclosed by Minnesota on Monday as a courtesy so he could pursue other opportunities Rodgers and Thielen have known each other for years going back to their long respective runs in the NFC North He announced this is the best his body has felt because he hasn t been playing a whole lot in Minnesota Rodgers commented So I think he s got a lot left in the tank and a lot of impetus to go out there and put various good play on film AP NFL https apnews com hub NFL Source