In the end, the Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t close to defeating the Houston Texans, and Aaron Rodgers wasn’t close to good enough at quarterback.
The future Hall of Famer might well have played his final NFL game, and if so, it was a forgettable one. Rodgers had no touchdowns and two turnovers leading directly to defensive touchdowns as the Texans dominated the fourth quarter of a 30-6 wild-card win over the host Steelers on Monday night.
Afterward, Rodgers wouldn’t commit to either another season or retirement.
“No, I’m not going to make any emotional decisions,” Rodgers said. “I’m disappointed, obviously. It was a fun year. A lot of adversity, but it was a great year.
“It’s disappointing to be sitting here with the season over.”
In the loss, Rodgers completed 17 of 33 passes for 146 yards with a 50.8 quarterback rating. His fumble early in the fourth quarter led to a Sheldon Rankins 33-yard fumble return touchdown and a 17-6 deficit. With just under three minutes left, he was intercepted by Calen Bullock, who returned the pick 50 yards for a touchdown.
As part of his decision-making process, Rodgers, 42, offered that he just needed to “get away and have the right conversations.”
Did he approach this game as his final one?
“I’ve answered this before, every game could be my final game.”
If Rodgers retires, he will finish his career as the highest-rated passer in NFL history, the most sacked and with the lowest interception percentage for a career. He would also retire a four-time MVP and a one-time Super Bowl champion.
The 21-year, 10-time Pro Bowl player has thrown for more than 66,000 yards with 527 touchdowns and 123 interceptions over 18 seasons in Green Bay, two seasons with the Jets and one season in Pittsburgh.
