Through the Quarterback's Eyes: Aaron Rodgers

Breaking Down Rodgers' 45-Yard TD Pass to Kenneth Gainwell vs. the Lions

Aaron Rodgers was mic’d up by NFL Films for the Steelers’ Week 16 win over the Lions. There is a great clip circulating of him practically drawing up a play in the dirt and it leading to a touchdown pass to Kenneth Gainwell. I’ll break down that play below.

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There were 11 seconds left in the first half, the Steelers trailed 10-3 and had 1 timeout remaining. They had the ball at the Lions’ 45-yard line and were seemingly trying to pick up just a few more yards to be able to kick a field goal.

They came out in a 3x1 formation with 3 receivers to the left and tight end Pat Freiermuth to the backside. The Lions were showing a 2 deep look and had linebacker Jack Campbell aligned over Freiermuth on the outside. That was a good indicator that this was man coverage:

You can see the route concept illustrated below:

Based on the play design and the situation, it seemed Rodgers was going to target the quick slant to Scotty Miller on the left to help create an easier field goal try:

As you could see in that NFL Films clip, Rodgers had initially told Kenneth Gainwell to “run a flat to the right” as they were breaking the huddle.

Gainwell’s route would be in the same area as Freiermuth’s, though, so it wasn’t a great combination to that side.

However, the point of that route was likely to remove linebacker Alex Anzalone from the middle since this was man coverage and the intent of the play was to hit Miller’s slant and pick up a few quick yards. Rodgers didn’t want any defenders lurking inside: