Aaron Rodgers Says Steelers' Offense Was 'Terrible' After First 2 Drives vs. Patriots

The Pittsburgh Steelers survived the New England Patriots on Sunday, winning 21-14 after Aaron Rodgers found Calvin Austin III for a go-ahead touchdown pass with just over two minutes remaining.

The veteran quarterback wasn't pleased with an offense that stalled out after starting the game with two straight touchdowns, however, as the unit proceeded to either punt or turn the ball over on its next five drives.

"We were terrible on offense after the first two drives," Rodgers said on CBS. "I didn't have a good game. But the defense, every time, kept us in it. ... The defense won the game. This was a classic Blitzburgh performance. Hats off to those guys. Offense, we've gotta get in the film room and get better, because we can't have our defense save it like that for us every week."

Rodgers finished the game 16-of-23 for 136 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He's been solid in Pittsburgh thus far, with 586 passing yards, seven touchdowns, three interceptions and a 65.1 completion percentage. He's also been sacked seven times as the Steelers have started 2-1.

The Steelers were humming to start on Sunday before the Patriots gummed up the works.

"We can take a lot from the first two drives," Rodgers said. "We came out and played well, we got into rhythm, we were no huddle, moved down the field and scored a couple of touchdowns."

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Luckily for the offense, Pittsburgh's defense forced five turnovers and sacked Drake Maye five times. The Steelers certainly can't rely on that sort of defensive effort on a weekly basis, however.

"(At) 14-0 we're feeling pretty good about ourselves. We hadn't been ahead by two scores yet," he told reporters. "I just didn't play great. We just kind of lost our rhythm, had too many penalties, negative yardage plays and didn't make them pay when we had opportunities."

The Steelers have a Week 4 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings before a bye the week after that, so they have some time to get the offense playing more consistently. A tough slate remains after the bye, however, with six AFC North games and matchups against the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions yet to come.