Aaron Rodgers isn't telling the Steelers to R-E-L-A-X. 'I don't feel like this team has a freak out'

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers doesn't see the need to dip into his greatest hits to put things in perspective for the slumping Pittsburgh Steelers.

The quarterback who famously told everyone in Green Bay — his teammates included — to “R-E-L-A-X” after a sluggish start, has no plans to spread the same message this time around as Pittsburgh (6-6) begins the stretch run with a visit to Baltimore (6-6) on Sunday with first place in the AFC North on the line.

“I don’t feel like this team has a freak out or a panic that I need to like send a message out to the zeitgeist that everybody needs to just relax a little bit,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “We’ve been playing inconsistent football, that’s for sure. Got to play better.”

The newly minted 42-year-old — a milestone the NFL's oldest active player hit Tuesday — acknowledged the circumstances are a little different now than they were in 2014, when he felt there was an overreaction to Green Bay's 1-2 start.

It was still September when Rodgers stood at the podium and uttered a phrase he felt was “authentic” to the moment. The Packers responded by winning 11 of their final 13 games and Rodgers easily won the second of his four MVP awards.

“We played three games, we played two (teams) that would turn out to be playoff teams and we went one and two, and then we went on an absolute heater after that,” Rodgers said.

Pittsburgh doesn't have that kind of time to figure things out. It also doesn't have the luxury of Rodgers in his prime. Still, the AFC North remains there for the taking despite a nearly two-month slide that's seen the good vibes generated by a 4-1 start replaced by angst.

A portion of the fans who stuck around to the bitter end of a lopsided loss to Buffalo on Sunday called for longtime coach Mike Tomlin's dismissal. Tomlin admitted he's just as frustrated as they are but remains optimistic the Steelers can turn things around, in part because that's his job.

Rodgers, who returned for a 21st season explicitly to join forces with Tomlin, is similarly upbeat.

“You kind of wait and hope for that run that you can go on to kind of get to be playing the right way come December,” he said. “But I think from a foundational standpoint, to be playing meaningful games in December is special and we need to embrace that.”

There's nowhere to go but up.

Playing with a brace on his broken left wrist, Rodgers connected on just 10 of 21 passes for 117 yards and absorbed a game-altering sack-fumble on a crunching hit by Buffalo edge rusher Joey Bosa. The 10 completions marked a career low for a game Rodgers both started and finished, though he did take a series off while getting his busted nose patched up after getting drilled by Bosa.

The shaky play against the Bills wasn't a one-off. Rodgers is completing just 52% of his passes with two touchdowns, two picks and two fumbles over his past 10 quarters, starting with one of the worst starts of his career against the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 9.

Rodgers isn't ready to cede anything to age. He's been doing this for a long time. The spate of recent clunkers isn’t the first time he's endured a slump.

“When you have a great game, it’s never as good as you think it was, and when you struggle as an offense or personally, it’s never as bad (as you think it was),” Rodgers said. “So we’re always closer than we think and we’re also not as great as we think we are.”

One of the biggest issues has been the inability of one of the secondary receivers behind DK Metcalf to develop into a consistent threat. It also hasn't helped that tight end Pat Freiermuth — the team's leading receiver a year ago — has been relegated to a minor role player.

Freiermuth has played less than half of Pittsburgh's snaps and was on the field for just 17 plays against Buffalo while finishing without a reception for the second time this season and fifth time in his career.

“I'd love to see more opportunities for Pat,” Rodgers said.

While Freiermuth allowed that “obviously it's frustrating" to not be heavily involved, he added he has faith in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

“Just got to be able to understand my role and hopefully it changes going forward,” he said.

Pittsburgh signed two-time Pro Bowl receiver Adam Thielen to the practice squad on Tuesday, the second time in a month they've brought in a veteran for a look. Marquez Valdes-Scantling has yet to get off the practice squad. Thielen was released by Minnesota on Monday as a courtesy so he could pursue other opportunities.

Rodgers and Thielen have known each other for years going back to their long respective runs in the NFC North.

“He said this is the best his body has felt because he hasn’t been playing a whole lot in Minnesota,” Rodgers said. “So I think he’s got a lot left in the tank and a lot of impetus to go out there and put some good play on film.”

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