This past weekend, Super Bowl winner Aaron Rodgers watched his team lose against the Chicago Bears by three points. The Steelers‘ locker room failed to meet the veteran’s expectations. He is ready to start against the Buffalo Bills, but took shots at his teammates sarcastically after the first day of practice.

“There’s just too many times where we haven’t been able to survive downs. We’ve been trying to figure that out all season. This is the time where the focus maybe has to go up a little bit, maybe tighten up a little bit more,” Rodgers said on Wednesday, November 26. “I love what a loose team we are.”

This is a love-hate relationship that develops when results don’t go your way. The Black and the Gold have lost four of the last six games. It clearly points to their struggling offense. In eleven games, Aaron Rodgers & co. have only 194 first downs compared to the opponents’ 242 first-down plays.

However, the situation becomes even more alarming on their third downs and almost dangerous on the fourth downs. Here’s a detailed report after Week 12.

So, the Steelers need to wake up before it starts affecting their playoff run. The defense has stopped their rivals, allowing only 28 touchdowns, two fewer than their team. However, that doesn’t help them as they are still leaking 23.9 points per game, most since 1988. The remaining season will need everyone to step up.

Their schedule is tough, with two games against their divisional rivals, the Baltimore Ravens (6-5) in Week 14 and Week 18, one against the Cleveland Browns (3-8) in Week 17, and the Detroit Lions (7-4) in Week 15. But winning would only be possible if everyone came together. The veteran believes his teammates are not putting in 100% effort.

Aaron Rodgers takes shots at his locker room

When A-Rod arrived in Pittsburgh, everyone was excited. They hoped for a quick turnaround, which happened in the first few games. But then, they went back to their original avatars, losing games when it mattered. The veteran cautioned that things will not improve until they really work hard.

“It’s really on the players. We have to Monday to Saturday is when you win a lot of these football games and just dial in the plan and being able to fix things when they happen in real time, and being able to make a bad play doable,” Aaron Rodgers said. “And if we can do that, then we’re going to put ourselves in position to win all six of these games.”

It’s clear to everyone that the team captains need to inspire their teammates. Wide receiver DK Metcalf has to lead them from the front, like the Rams‘ veteran and former Rodgers teammate Davante Adams, who scored three touchdowns against the Jaguars in Week 7 when their key receiver, Puka Nacua, was out with a sprained knee.

Fortunately, they are not dealing with major injury concerns. Aaron Rodgers is also expected to play at 100% against the Bills. His teammates need to go all-in. Otherwise, the questions will keep increasing.