AARON RODGERS STORMS OUT OF PRESS CONFERENCE FOLLOWING REPEATED MIKE TOMLIN QUESTIONS
Aaron Rodgers defends Mike Tomlin after a brutal 30-6 playoff loss to the Texans. Is the Steelers QB heading toward retirement?
Aaron Rodgers isn’t sure what’s next for him in the NFL, but after the Steelers got trounced by the Texans in the playoffs, he made it clear he’s standing by Mike Tomlin.
After the Steelers’ ugly 30-6 loss in Pittsburgh, Rodgers talked about Tomlin during his postgame press conference. Reporters wanted to know if Tomlin was on the hot seat, since the Steelers have now lost seven straight playoff games. Rodgers didn’t hold back.
“When I came into the league, nobody even thought about putting guys like that on the hot seat,” Rodgers said. “But now, with the way people cover football, the snap judgments, and how everyone on Twitter or TV acts like they know everything—it’s a joke. To think guys like Tomlin or LaFleur are really in trouble says a lot about where we’re at right now. Matt’s done a ton in Green Bay, and I’ve been part of a lot of that success.”
The numbers from Monday’s game were rough for Pittsburgh. Houston outgained them 408 to 175 in total yards. The Steelers only managed 63 rushing yards, way below their already weak average. The Texans’ defence dominated—four sacks, two forced turnovers, and two defensive touchdowns.
C.J. Stroud threw for 250 yards and a touchdown (plus an interception) for Houston. Woody Marks ran for 112 yards and a score. Christian Kirk caught eight passes for 144 yards and a touchdown.
Rodgers didn’t have his best day either. He completed just 17 of 33 passes for 146 yards, with an interception and a lost fumble. Sheldon Rankins scooped up that fumble and ran it back 33 yards for a touchdown. Calen Bullock returned Rodgers’ pick 50 yards to the end zone.
Honestly, it’s kind of wild that the Steelers even made the playoffs. They won the AFC North, sure, but their offence ranked near the bottom of the league, and their defence wasn’t much better. Still, under Tomlin, they finished their 19th straight season without a losing record. But the playoff story stayed the same: another quick exit.
Tomlin’s track record is solid—he won a Super Bowl in his second year and started 8-5 in the postseason. Bill Cowher, the guy before him, went 12-9 in the playoffs over 15 years and nabbed a Super Bowl, too.
“Mike T. has had more success than just about anyone in the league in the last 20 years,” Rodgers said. “And when you’ve got the right guy and the culture’s strong, you don’t think about making a change. But outside noise puts pressure on teams, and sometimes that sways decisions. Honestly, that’s not how I’d do things, and it’s not how the league used to work.”
Tomlin said he feels “optimistic” about the future when asked, but he wasn’t ready to talk big picture or address his own job security. He’s under contract through 2026, with a team option after that.
“I’m not even thinking about that right now,” Tomlin said. “I’m thinking about what just happened out there—what we did and what we didn’t do. Not looking at the big picture yet.”
As for Rodgers, he’s heading into free agency and stayed quiet about whether he’d return in 2026. He’s already hinted that 2025 might be his last year, but when asked about playing for Pittsburgh if he keeps going, he didn’t want to get into it.
“I’m not making any emotional decisions right now,” Rodgers said. “It’s been a fun year, a lot of adversity, but a lot of good times, too. This team’s been a big part of that for me. So yeah, it stings to be sitting here with the season over.”
Now the Texans, sitting at 13-5, move on to face the top-seeded Patriots in Foxborough on Sunday.
EXECUTIVE "EXPECTS" JOE BURROW TO REQUEST OFFSEASON BENGALS EXIT NOW
Bengals in crisis: Explore why Joe Burrow is tired of losing and if the Chase-Higgins era is officially over in Cincinnati.
An NFL executive thinks Joe Burrow is ready to move on from the Bengals this offseason. According to him, Burrow’s tired of losing, and he wants a real shot at winning.
This past season didn’t help things. The Bengals missed the playoffs again, mostly because Burrow, 29, sat out nearly the entire year with a turf toe he picked up in Week 2. He hasn’t played a postseason snap since the 2022 AFC Championship loss to Kansas City.
Burrow’s still under contract until 2029, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation. “I could see him trying to get out,” the exec told SportsBoom. “Honestly, I kind of expect it. That’s a tough place to win, and he really wants to win.”
The Bengals’ track record is rough. They’ve never won a Super Bowl, and they’ve only made it to the big game once in the last 37 years.
Burrow was the first pick in 2020 and dragged the team to Super Bowl LVI in his second season, but they lost to the Rams. Since then, the Bengals have missed the playoffs three years straight. Even so, head coach Zac Taylor keeps his job, with owner Mike Brown backing him to stick around through 2026. But nobody’s sure if Burrow will still be his quarterback, and it’s not just Burrow. Guys like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have shaky futures, too.
“This is it,” an anonymous GM said about the Bengals’ situation. “They’re not trading for a star like Maxx Crosby. The defence is terrible. This is probably the last year Chase and Higgins are both around. It’s all coming to a head.”
Back in December, Burrow was asked if he could see himself not returning to Cincinnati next year. He said, “I can’t see that, no.” When pressed about whether he’s thought about playing elsewhere long-term, he admitted, “You think about a lot of things.”
He even suggested there’s friction inside the organisation. “It feels like everybody’s trying to stop me from playing football, and I’m fighting it, fighting everybody else,” Burrow said. “I just want to play ball; that’s all I want to do.”
SACRIFICE REQUIRED: MIKE BROWN’S NON-NEGOTIABLE RULES FOR REBUILDING THE KNICKS' WINNING CHEMISTRY
Are the Knicks contenders? Read Mike Brown’s championship claim, the KAT shooting crisis, and how to beat the dominant Pistons.
The New York Knicks kicked off this season with a lot of hype. After last year’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals, everyone figured they’d be pushing for a real shot at the title this time.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown isn’t shying away from that talk. He’s convinced this team can win it all. Sure, they've looked sharp in his first year at the helm, but it hasn’t been smooth the whole way. They started strong with 23 wins and 9 losses and even grabbed the NBA Cup. Then, out of nowhere, they crashed into a 2-9 skid that almost derailed everything.
After that rough patch, they rattled off eight straight wins, but since then, it’s been a lot of back-and-forth. One night they look like contenders, the next they’re just average. Even with the ups and downs, they’re sitting in third place in the East, just a game and a half behind the Celtics.
Brown still believes in his squad, despite all the turbulence. “I truly believe it,” he said Thursday. “We’re a championship team. But you have to be playing your best basketball;contenders; everyone has to be on the same page. Sacrifice is non-negotiable. If even one guy isn’t buying in, that wrecks your chemistry, and chemistry is everything. You need to want to compete every night. And you have to believe.”
He knows the pressure is there, but he keeps bringing it back to belief and accountability. “Even when things go south 2-7, 2-9, you can’t just believe in the process; you have to believe in each other. And everyone, starting with me, has to be held accountable.”
The Knicks have had their moments, but they still don’t look settled. Karl-Anthony Towns is having the worst shooting year of his career. Mikal Bridges can’t seem to find his rhythm, on offence or defence. It doesn’t help that tough, physical teams have given them nightmares. The Pistons, who are running away with the East, have manhandled the Knicks in all three matchups, outscoring them by a whopping 84 points combined. That’s not just a bad night; that’s a glaring talent gap the Knicks need to close.
If they want to be a real championship threat, everything has to come together. Right now, it’s obvious they’re still adjusting to a new system, and time is running out. The playoffs are coming fast. If they don’t figure it out soon, belief alone won’t be enough.
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