Through the Quarterback's Eyes: Aaron Rodgers
Breaking down Rodgers' 2nd-half performance against the Ravens
In what was an absolutely wild finish that saw 4 fourth-quarter lead changes and 2 missed kicks in the final minute, the Steelers pulled off a 26-24 upset win over the Ravens to capture the AFC North division title.
This was the type of game that the Steelers went out and got Aaron Rodgers for, and he delivered in a big way. Rodgers led the Steelers on two 4th-quarter come-from-behind touchdown drives in the final 5 minutes. He seemed to turn back the clock in the second half, completing 16 of 22 passes for 196 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
The biggest plays of the night for Pittsburgh came on third-and-long. This is an area where they had been among the worst in the NFL during the season. Entering Sunday, they ranked 26th with just a 20.5% conversion rate.
On Sunday night, however, they converted a surprising 6 of 9 third-and-longs, including 4 of 5 in the second half.
They’d be on the golf course this week if not for those conversions.
As has been the case throughout much of the season, the Steelers offense looked ugly in the first half. They got things going on their last drive but were stopped at the goal line on the final play.
They trailed 10-3 and received the ball to start the 3rd quarter. They absolutely needed to get points on the board. However, they faced a 3rd-and-10.
Rodgers would say after the game that some of the little things they had been talking about since training camp finally started to show up, particularly with tight end Pat Freiermuth:
“We had a 3rd-and-10, we went on a first sound […] center snap by Zach [Frazier], where he just kind of goes up, waits, and snaps it.”
“And they bring ‘strong dog.’ They bring the Mike and they bring #44 [Marlon Humphrey] off the slot.”
“And we talked from day 1 when I got here, I like throwing vertical peeks vs. pressure. So start off by looking vertical. And [Pat and I] actually kind of […] made eye contact in the huddle and [I] just said, be alert.”
Freiermuth would run down the seam and was the vertical route Rodgers wanted:
“And then sure enough, he widens slightly like he’s supposed to.”
This little detail, the widening of Freiermuth’s route, was critical. Since the pressure was a “strong dog” with the middle linebacker and slot corner blitzing from the strong side, the defender who would account for Freiermuth (linebacker Trenton Simpson) would be coming from the other side of the field:
Freiermuth widening gave Rodgers more space to fit this throw in before Simpson could get there:
That completion was huge as it kept the offense on the field and seemed to get the passing game going. The Steelers would finish the drive with a touchdown to even the score, and we had a brand new ball game.
In the fourth quarter with Pittsburgh trailing 17-13 and just 6 minutes remaining, they faced another critical 3rd-and-long. Rodgers would say that this play was another great example of how the details the Steelers have talked about all season finally came to fruition. Once again, it was Freiermuth who was on top of it. According to Rodgers:
“We talked on ‘thru routes,’ if you get 2-man, double up, take your time, give ‘em an out-break look, and then go down the middle. And on the second-to-last drive, he ran an absolutely unbelievable route.”
The Steelers didn’t get 2-man on this particular play, but the Ravens did play Tampa-2 with safety Ar’Darius Washington running down the seam with Freiermuth. For all intents and purposes, this matchup was man coverage:
Watch Freiermuth do exactly what Rodgers described. He took his time, gave a little nod to the outside to get Washington to bite on what he thought would be an out-route, and then accelerated down the seam: