Sunday night in LA was a tough scene for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A 25-10 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers, flaring tempers, and a side serving of guilt. Head coach Mike Tomlin, usually cool as ice, was visibly frustrated at the podium. He kept snapping “Next” at the reporters. Yet, in a rare moment, he admitted he could have handled it better.

“When Mike Tomlin came over here, he looked us in the eye and he says, ‘I could’ve been more patient. We will be back,” noted NBC’s Rodney Harrison in his post-game coverage. But even if Tomlin had tried, patience wouldn’t have come easily. After watching his team collapse, there was no room for sugarcoating. Frustrations, quite naturally, had hit the fever pitch.

The Steelers converted just 2 of 11 on third downs and lost the turnover battle badly. Tomlin didn’t blame the offense outright, but made it clear their 3rd down attempts need to improve. Injuries and attrition played a role, with key players like cornerback Darius Slay out and others dealing with bumps and bruises. Still, Tomlin’s tone and the way he stared down reporters were hard to ignore.

“I’m not lacking confidence. I don’t need a pat on the back. We stunk it up tonight,” admitted Tomlin, still with the air of utmost frustration. “We’ll be back. I’m not trying to frame it in any way. I’m just telling you guys what happened, you guys write the narrative.”

Tomlin’s frustrations hit a raw nerve because the Steelers have been fighting for consistency like never before. One bad night shouldn’t sink the ship, but it showed cracks in a team with playoff aspirations. The coach’s admission that he wished he’d been calmer underlined the pressure Steel City is facing. They could be looking at their first losing season in the Mike Tomlin era. This wasn’t just heat-of-the-moment anger; it was regret, and a promise to fix things.

But through all the post-game fuming, the one outburst that stood out the most was when Tomlin addressed questions about his veteran quarterback’s performance.

Mike Tomlin’s temper, Aaron Rodgers’ regret

Coach Tomlin started with the standard coach-speak when asked about Aaron Rodgers’ performance in the game. He painted it as a collective collapse rather than pointing fingers.

“We as an offense collective were off today. And certainly he was a component of that,” Tomlin said. “I’ll let him speak for himself. But we certainly got to be better.”

Rodgers notably had 16 completions out of 31 attempts. A mere 161 yards with 1 touchdown and two picks. His passer rating of 50.6 was the lowest across the nine games so far. So naturally, the questions about his performance persisted. But when a reporter asked Tomlin how he would assess Rodgers’ production in Week 10, Tomlin lost it.

“How would you?” Tomlin snapped back in exasperation. “Next,” he added. Rodgers, meanwhile, took complete accountability for the Week 10 disaster.

“I expect to play great every single week, and this was not my best performance,” Rodgers noted. “I got to play better. Whatever it takes.”

The Steelers now go 5-4 to face the Cincinnati Bengals in a divisional battle next week. Tomlin’s admission of regret and the very public airing of frustrations show the team needs a reset. Rodgers must find his groove. The offense must click on third downs. And maybe most of all, patience and calm have to return to a locker room steeped in pressure. Week 11 will tell us if it has.