Aaron Rodgers acknowledges Steelers offense isn't playing 'winning football' after listless effort in loss to Patriots

For the second time in two 2026 games, Drake Maye wasn't great. On Sunday, he didn't need to be.

New England 's defense teed off on Aaron Rodgers and an impotent Pittsburgh Steelers offense to lead a 20-3 Patriots win.

The Patriots forced two fumbles from the 42-year-old Steelers quarterback. One of them resulted in a 36-yard loss and a fourth-and-43 punt. The second resulted in a scoop-and-score touchdown that extended New England's lead to 20-3 and iced the win.

New England then ended Pittsburgh's best chance of scoring a touchdown with an interception of Rodgers that abruptly ended a 72-yard fourth-quarter drive.

When Rodgers wasn't getting hit or turning the ball over, he faced consistent pressure and struggled to move Pittsburgh's offense in any meaningful way.

Aaron Rodgers: Offense isn't playing 'winning football'

After the game, Rodgers acknowledged that the Steelers' offense wasn't pulling its weight. The unit accounted for 13 points in Week 1's 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons in which a T.J. Watt pick 6 accounted for the difference in the game.

"Defense has been playing great, they've been holding 13 points a game in two games," Rodgers told reporters . "I think offensively, we're averaging, like eight points a game. It's not winning football. … When they hold them to 13 points, we've got to win the game."

Rodgers said that it was up to offensive players to "play better" and "give a little more" and that "it starts with me." He also said that he and head coach Mike McCarthy wouldn't react by panicking.

"You're not gonna see me panic," Rodgers continued. "I don't think Mike's gonna panic. Urgency's gonna go up a little bit, for sure. But no panic."

Rodgers completed 23-of-39 passes for 187 yards (4.8 yards per attempt) with no touchdowns and an interception. He took four sacks and was hit seven other times. He and former Pro Bowl receiver DK Metcalf struggled to connect as Metcalf finished with 4 catches for 27 yards.

No Steelers receiver talled more than 35 yards through the air. Pittsburgh's offense managed 235 yards on 3.5 yards per play.

The Patriots struck first on Sunday with a 39-yard first-quarter touchdown run from TreVeyon Henderson in his first game of the season after missing Week 1 with an ankle injury. That turned out to be all the points New England needed to secure the win.

With the Patriots holding a 10-0 lead in the second quarter, Pittsburgh had a shot to get on the board with third-and-7 at New England's 22-yard line. But Christian Elliss sacked Rodgers and forced a fumble, setting off a mad scramble as the ball bounced back toward the Pittsburgh end zone .

Steelers tackle Troy Fautanu eventually recovered the ball, but the 36-yard loss doomed Pittsburgh's scoring chance and forced a punt on the next play.

Then in the fourth quarter, the Patriots forced Rodgers' second fumble of the day, this time in Steelers territory. Christian Barmore got pressure up the middle and forced the ball loose. Elijah Ponder scooped it up and returned the ball 19 yards for a touchdown.

Two possessions later, Pittsburgh responded with what looked liked its best drive of the game in a late effort to make things competitive.

But wide receiver Germie Bernard failed to catch a screen pass in the red zone. Instead, he bobbled it in the air, allowing linebacker Gabe Jacas to intercept it and effectively end the game.

The effort capped an overwhelming effort from New England's defense that got the Patriots back on the right track after they blew a 10-0 second half lead in Week 1's 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks .

After throwing three second-half interceptions in that loss to Seattle, Maye was far from perfect on Sunday. He threw another ill-advised pass that resulted in an interception on an underthrown downfield look to Hunter Henry that Patrick Queen picked off.

The interception with New England holding a 10-3 lead momentarily allowed the Steelers to stay in the game.

But Maye was good enough in keeping the Patriots' offense functional as their defense set the tone for the win. Maye finished his day completing 14-of-22 passes for 208 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.

Henderson paced New England's offense with 76 rushing yards and the unit's only touchdown on 16 carries.

The Patriots (1-1) will take the win and hope for a more balanced effort in Week 3 in what projects as a difficult matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars .

The Steelers (1-1) move on to face the high-octane Cincinnati Bengals in search of an offensive fix that won't be easy to find.