The Pittsburgh Steelers ensured a two-game winning streak by picking up the 26-19 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, improving to 4-2 on the season. That was also Aaron Rodgers’ seventh overtime win, worthy enough for a night of celebration.
Despite overcoming a 13-point deficit to secure the win, the Steelers’ inconsistent performance raised questions about whether Rodgers can still deliver at a consistently high level, with Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter among the critics questioning Rodgers’ ability to perform like his vaunted former self.
Cris Carter Delivers Blunt Verdict on Aaron Rodgers and Steelers
Rodgers overcame a sluggish start to deliver a late-game comeback for the Steelers, delivering four scoring drives in the fourth quarter before guiding his team to the dramatic win over the Buccaneers.
The 42-year-old quarterback capped off a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass, putting Pittsburgh ahead for good with approximately four minutes remaining in overtime. He finished the game with 253 passing yards with two touchdown passes, and ranks No. 24 in PFN’s QB Impact Metric with a 68.6 grade.
Pittsburgh had entered the game unbeaten at home but winless in its first two road games of the season. From Rodgers’ perspective, the comeback marked an important step forward as the Steelers finally picked up their first away win of the season.
However, the performance did little to convince Carter that Pittsburgh is a better team than many fans believe. When asked whether the Steelers had shown they were better than people give them credit for, Carter responded with a straight “no” on the ” Fully Loaded Podcast” on Tuesday.
“Aaron Rodgers has proven no one wrong,” Carter said. “Tampa Bay is a shell of themselves without Baker Mayfield. They’re playing with a backup free agent quarterback. And Pittsburgh had to come back.
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“This offensive line is going to get him killed. If he throws the ball 49 times, he will not make it through the regular season. They were slightly better than Tampa, which the score would indicate. But this was an ugly football game.”
Rodgers also reached another significant milestone in his career in the Tampa Bay game. His two touchdown passes brought his career regular-season total to 539, tying Peyton Manning for third place on the league’s all-time list.
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However, Rodgers’ final numbers did not tell the entire story of his performance against Tampa Bay, as he was sacked five times in the first three quarters. Rodgers also threw an interception in the opening quarter, which helped set up the first of four field goals for the Buccaneers’ Chase McLaughlin.
Carter believes the biggest concern is how visibly Rodgers’ age is affecting his game.
“Every week you can see Aaron Rodgers age, man,” Carter said. “He cannot move the way that he used to. Still got a great arm and throwing talent, but no. No. This was an ugly football game that they were fortunate enough to win.”
For Carter, the central concern is whether the Steelers can depend on Rodgers to perform at a high level throughout an entire game and against stronger opposition.
Pittsburgh and Rodgers next go up against the New Orleans in Week 7 in Paris.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.