Rodgers Bloodied but Unshaken in Wild Steelers–Bills Clash
So here’s what went down in Pittsburgh, and honestly, it felt like one of those moments you almost expect from Aaron Rodgers at this stage of his career — tough, dramatic, and a little bit unbelievable. Early in the third quarter, on literally the first play of the second half, Rodgers got absolutely crushed by Joey Bosa. The hit sent him to the turf face-down, and when he finally got up, his nose was bloodied and the ball had already been scooped up by Christian Benford, who took it 17 yards the other way for a Buffalo touchdown. Just like that, the momentum flipped.
Now, keep in mind, Rodgers is already playing with multiple fractures in his left wrist. He’d been insisting all week that he would play, even though he missed last week’s narrow loss to the Bears. And true to his word, he was out there. But after that Bosa hit, he jogged to the sideline, shaking his right hand, and disappeared into the medical tent. He stayed in there for about ten minutes, long enough for Mason Rudolph to come in — and unfortunately, Rudolph immediately threw an interception that Buffalo turned into more points when Josh Allen connected with Keon Coleman.
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But here’s the thing about Rodgers: he just doesn’t stay down. He came jogging back out for the next Steelers series with a bandage across his nose, looking like someone who had just stepped out of a boxing ring but had no intention of sitting out. The crowd knew it, too — that kind of resilience is exactly why his teammates have been so impressed. Even with the fractures in his wrist, he had practiced fully late in the week, and Mike Tomlin had already said the team was all-in on having him start a game with massive AFC playoff implications.
And the stakes really were huge. With the Ravens losing on Thanksgiving, Pittsburgh had a chance to grab a lead in the AFC North before their upcoming head-to-head matchups. Plus, beating Buffalo would’ve evened out their records and given the Steelers a crucial tiebreaker in the wild-card race. Rodgers has put up nearly 2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns so far in his first season in black and gold, and the team clearly believes that if anybody can steady a shaky stretch — four losses in the last six games — it’s him.
At 41, dealing with a broken wrist, a bloody nose, and the weight of a season that might be his last, Rodgers still chose to run back out there. That’s just who he is. And whether or not the Steelers can capitalize on it, the message he sent was loud and clear: he’s not going quietly, not now, and definitely not because of pain.
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