These two lovebirds, Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy, were back on Thursday night.
The Steelers were facing the Cleveland Browns in a scoreless game in the first quarter, and Pittsburgh had just gotten a first down by penalty, very much in business at the Cleveland 20-yard line.
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But Rodgers apparently didn’t get the call quickly enough for his liking. This led to Rodgers and McCarthy exchanging pleasantries – within range of Amazon Prime’s boom mics:
What McCarthy called for on that play didn’t work out well: an incomplete pass. But everyone put that aside, and four plays later, Rodgers hit Roman Wilson on a 12-yard touchdown pass to give the Steelers a 7-0 lead. Ultimately, despite a good night from Rodgers, the Browns scored a field goal in the final seconds to take a 27-24 victory.
Rogers finished 22 of 40 for 299 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
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Asked about his part of the exchange, McCarthy apologized for his choice of words but seemed to suggest it was a hot-button issue.
“Sometimes communication isn’t the best choice of words, but everyone is competing on the field,” McCarthy said. “I think, you know, what’s said on the field, the way I grew up in this game, you know, usually stays on the field.
“That’s not the case today. I understand that. But yeah, any negative communication from me, I would like to not use those words.”
Rodgers was not specifically asked about the McCarthy trade.
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The Rodgers-McCarthy relationship – their first collaboration since their days with the Green Bay Packers eight years ago – has fallen on hard times recently. After the Week 2 loss to New England, Rodgers said he needed to do a better job “making sure Mike knows what works and what doesn’t work” when it comes to play calling.
McCarthy had been relatively restrained. Until Thursday, of course.
Gn sports
