The pressure seemed to catch up to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, during the Week 4 game against the Cleveland Browns right around the first quarter. And the pressure was enough to make him curse the head coach, Mike McCarthy.
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“What the f—,” Rodgers shouted from the field just before huddling. “Call it!”
Right after the quarterback erupted, the camera shifted to the head coach, who seemed to mouth “f—ing a—ole” at Rodgers.
Rodgers was already frustrated with one official timeout and two incomplete passes in the Steelers’ first drive, but things got a bit heated when the clock struck 5:49.
The play began with Rodgers in shotgun. He threw a pass to his wide receiver, Michael Pittman, for nine yards and reached Cleveland’s 35-yard line. But just as he threw the ball, the Browns defensive tackle, Maliek Collins, slammed into Rodgers and sent him toppling to the ground. The referees flagged the play and put a 15-yard penalty on the Browns for roughing the passer.
But the officials called two more fouls against the defense. They called a foul on cornerback Myles Harden for illegal contact on the Steelers’ receiver, Roman Wilson. Meanwhile, Jared Verse was flagged for a dead-ball penalty. Thankfully, for the Browns, the officials declined both of these fouls.
With the penalty pushing the drive to Cleveland’s 20-yard line, Rodgers seemed to get a bit impatient. He didn’t get the play fast enough from the head coach, which led to an audible F-bomb in the hot-mic moment. It’s worth noting that the next play commenced with 5:41 left on the clock.
But it didn’t take long for Rodgers to send a touchdown pass to Roman Wilson for 12 yards. And Chris Boswell managed to get that extra point for the Steelers, giving them a seven-point lead against the Browns in the first quarter.
Playing the Browns at their home ground, Huntington Bank Field in Ohio, puts the Pittsburgh Steelers in a tough spot. As the Steelers waited for the officials’ review on the play with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter, the Browns crowd kept booing the Steelers from the stands. The noise was loud enough to poke the Steelers’ quarterback, frustrating him in the process.
Aaron Rodgers’ hot-mic outburst during the first quarter captured the intensity of an AFC North primetime clash.
However, the tables turned pretty quickly as the Browns, led by Deshaun Watson, went on to score two touchdowns within the second quarter. But with two more quarters in the game, Rodgers still has a good chance of bringing a win to Pittsburgh.
The question is – Can he keep his emotions in check while pushing back against the Dawg Pound hostility?