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Veteran quarterback\u00a0Aaron Rodgers\u00a0has been quite expressive during games when things don\u2019t go well for the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0this season. When he\u2019s not visibly yelling, he often displays a face that makes it easy to read what he\u2019s likely thinking.<\/p>\n
NFL insider Mike Florio argued Friday that Rodgers\u2019s facial expressions hit a low point during the Week 10 loss to the\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u00a0Bengals\u00a0game, he looked irritated the whole time. On Sunday against the Chargers, he had more of an overall attitude of resignation,\u201d Florio said of Rodgers on 93.7 The Fan this week,\u00a0via Steelers Depot\u2019s Matthew Marci. \u201cAnd was it, \u2018It\u2019s not our night,\u2019 or is it \u2018It\u2019s not our year,\u2019 or is it, \u2018I\u2019m just done, and I\u2019m not gonna get what I thought I was gonna get here in Pittsburgh?’\u201d<\/p>\n
Florio continued to read between the lines and assess Rodgers\u2019s mindset based on his Week 10 facial expressions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel like he\u2019s accepting something,\u201d Florio also said of Rodgers. \u201cWhether it was just that night or the rest of the season, and \u2018This is how my career\u2019s gonna end,\u2019 I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he definitely had just kind of an acceptance that seemed like he was recognizing. \u2018That\u2019s all, folks.’\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Florio\u2019s job to read between the lines and draw dramatic conclusions to stir discussion in the media. But his conclusion that Rodgers has accepted his fate in Pittsburgh because of a bad few weeks is going to be a bridge too far for a lot of fans.<\/p>\n
Florio\u2019s take on Rodgers didn\u2019t come from sources or insider knowledge \u2014 it\u2019s a feeling he has. His \u201cfeelings\u201d or \u201cguesses around the quarterback have been way off in the past.<\/p>\n
Florio made an \u201ceducated guess\u201d\u00a0in March that it was going to cost $90 million on a two-year contract for the Steelers to sign the veteran quarterback. Rodgers\u2019s deal with Pittsburgh was\u00a0a one-year, $13.65 million contract.<\/p>\n
Florio is right about one thing \u2014 it\u2019s rather easy to decipher when Rodgers is displeased about something along the sidelines. Sunday night against the Chargers, there was plenty to be upset about with the Steelers.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh had only 221 yards and finished 2-for-11 on third down in Week 10. The offense didn\u2019t reach the end zone until there was fewer than three minutes remaining in regulation.<\/p>\n
Speaking of unhappy facial expressions, Mike Tomlin appeared rather disgusted based on his face during the third quarter. Again, that\u2019s understandable based on how the team\u2019s played on offense.<\/p>\n
But talking about Tomlin\u2019s expressions doesn\u2019t make headlines. So, the coach\u2019s face went largely unnoticed.<\/p>\n
Sideline behavior can be a clear indication into a player\u2019s mindset. But a postgame press conference can reveal that as well.<\/p>\n
In his Week 10 postgame presser, Rodgers stated that the offense lacked energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we were just kind of struggling a little bit, couldn\u2019t get a play to get going,\u201d Rodgers said. \u201cWe always say, \u2018we just get a first down, we score on that drive.\u2019 We had so many three and outs and we hurt ourselves with a couple penalties.<\/p>\n
To a follow-up question, though, the quarterback clarified the low energy isn\u2019t something happening a lot with the offense or team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just sometimes in the game, when it\u2019s just not going, it\u2019s just one of those days where we just couldn\u2019t quite get over the hump and get some first downs,\u201d said Rodgers.<\/p>\n
Based on those responses, Rodgers\u2019s facial expressions were probably closer to \u201cthis isn\u2019t our night\u201d than \u201cthis isn\u2019t our year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veteran\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0WR\u00a0Adam Thielen\u00a0drew headlines on Friday for his comments on the NFL\u2019s officiating problem. After being called for a crucial penalty in a key situation in the Vikings\u2019 loss to the\u00a0Ravens\u00a0last week, Thielen was hot on the sideline, letting the refs know how he felt, as well as his coaches and teammates. Anyone who was within earshot, really.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we need to have full-time referees,\u201d\u00a0Thielen said on KFAN\u2019s The Power Trip Morning Show, when asked about the state of officiating in the\u00a0NFL. \u201cI think it\u2019s ridiculous that \u2014 and no offense to these guys, I mean they obviously love their job, and they put a lot of time into it, I know they do. But we have these guys that are kind of \u2018fanboys\u2019 a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey love the fact that they get to go out there and get to shake hands with Patrick Mahomes, they get to hang out with these professional athletes. And then they go to their real job on Monday through Friday and they get to tell everyone how cool their side job is. I think that there should be full-time referees.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, the NFL is [worth] billions and billions of dollars,\u201d Thielen continued. \u201cThere\u2019s so much money in the game, there\u2019s so much betting on the game. These games means so much, not just to the people who are gambling, but what about the people that are putting in so much time and effort to try and go out and perform well and win games. And all the time the coaches put in \u2014 they deserve to have full-time referees. That\u2019s my take on it. I think it\u2019s very easy to do and I don\u2019t know why it hasn\u2019t been done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephen Maturen\/GettyMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA \u2013 SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell of the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0talks with Adam Thielen #19 before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 14, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I think the reason why I was probably so fired up was because we\u2019d talked about that exact play all week,\u201d Thielen said on the penalty in question. \u201cWe actually practiced that exact look in practice. Like, \u2018This is probably what we\u2019ll get and this is what we want you to do.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so I had a pretty good idea of what the rule was: that if you\u2019re on the line of scrimmage, or within a yard of the line of scrimmage, that you can actually hit \u2019em. That you can actually block them. And it\u2019s not pass interference, because if it\u2019s past one yard from the line of scrimmage, then it\u2019s pass interference if you touch them. \u2026And I think the shock of him not seeing me actually made it look worse than it really was. Because I didn\u2019t really hit him that hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, Thielen wasn\u2019t called for offensive pass interference. He was called for an illegal crack-back block, where an offensive player outside the tackle box blocks back towards their own end zone. This type of play was ruled a 15-yard penalty several years ago due to its high propensity for injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the frustration with these refs \u2014 I think they sometimes just forget that we\u2019re playing football,\u201d Theielen said. \u201cAnd yes, there\u2019s rules, but I think they sometimes forget the feel of the game. Was that really malicious in intent? Did I hit him in the head? No.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I think they just sometimes forget like, yes there\u2019s a rulebook, you can\u2019t crack back, you can\u2019t do these things. But what does it look like in football, and how does it apply to a real, full-speed rep? And so that\u2019s why I think I was so frustrated. I think some of what they were saying back to me made me a little more frustrated, I don\u2019t think they really understood the rule. So, interesting play. Obviously I can\u2019t do that, I apologized to the ref after the game. And he said he needed to get more clarification on the rule. So, all good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thielen made sure to apologize to the official for his outburst after the game, but he notes in this interview that he wants referees to account for game flow and natural physicality more in their calls. An interesting approach, given how much more subjectivity would be involved in such a process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Veteran quarterback\u00a0Aaron Rodgers\u00a0has been quite expressive during games when things don\u2019t go well for the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0this season. When he\u2019s not visibly yelling, he often displays a face that makes it easy to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t