{"id":108849,"date":"2025-10-17T09:20:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T09:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=108849"},"modified":"2025-10-17T09:20:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T09:20:32","slug":"%f0%9f%94%a5-locker-room-alert-aaron-rodgers-challenges-tomlins-version-of-the-busted-trick-play-fans-sense-cracks-forming-inside-the-steelers-offense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=108849","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udd25 LOCKER ROOM ALERT: Aaron Rodgers challenges Tomlin\u2019s version of the busted trick play \u2014 fans sense cracks forming inside the Steelers\u2019 offense!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2241503904.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2241503904.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2241503904.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2241503904.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Contradicts Mike Tomlin's Response to Failed Flea Flicker\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers gave a contradicting response to Mike Tomlin&#8217;s answer on the team&#8217;s failed flea flicker against the Cincinnati Bengals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn\u2019t want the public to know about the team\u2019s miscommunication on what appeared to be an attempted trick play against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn\u2019t get the memo.<\/p>\n<p>The Steelers seemed to run a flea flicker on their second drive of the game in Week 7 versus the Bengals. Rodgers handed the ball off to Jaylen Warren, who quickly tossed it back to Rodgers.<\/p>\n<p>After the game, Tomlin delivered two quick words to the media on the play and on whether it was a flea flicker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was,\u201d said Tomlin.<\/p>\n<p>But in Rodgers\u2019 press conference after the 33-31 loss to the Bengals, the quarterback said the play was something else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, it wasn\u2019t supposed to be a flea flicker. Yeah, we weren\u2019t on the same page,\u201d said Rodgers.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the play didn\u2019t work. Rodgers threw an incomplete pass to tight end Jonnu Smith. The drive resulted in a punt when the Steelers couldn\u2019t convert third down on the following play.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Aaron Rodgers, Jaylen Warren Miscommunication Early Turning Point in Loss<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot of moments a team that suffers a two-point defeat can point to and blame for a loss. After giving up 33 points, a lot of those moments will be on defense.<\/p>\n<p>The Steelers offense started quickly Thursday, giving the team a 7-0 lead after one possession. They then had an opportunity to take a double-digit lead in the middle of the first quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Pittsburgh\u2019s offense was already approaching midfield and faced a manageable second-and-4 as well.<\/p>\n<p>But the flea flicker play helped stopped that drive in its tracks. Again, the Steelers punted two snaps after the failed trick play.<\/p>\n<p>If that miscommunication doesn\u2019t happen, maybe the Steelers get points on that drive. That could have put the Bengals in a bigger early hole. The Bengals erased a 10-point deficit in the second quarter Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Cincinnati scored on seven of its final eight drives in the game. The Steelers ended the game with two turnovers. So, to win, they needed points on just about every other drive.<\/p>\n<p>The possession where they failed to convert the flea flicker resulted in one of Pittsburgh\u2019s two punts in the game.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Was the Steelers\u2019 First Quarter Play a Flea Flicker?<\/h2>\n<p>Reading between the lines, it appears Tomlin may have been covering for his players when telling the media that the play was a flea flicker. If that was the case, Rodgers\u2019 response was the truth.<\/p>\n<p>The quarterback indicated without saying it that Warren misunderstood the play call. That appeared to be what happened based on Rodgers\u2019 reaction immediately after his pass landed incomplete on the play.<\/p>\n<div id=\"b88a0749fabfa78746abe30c9a3cb3d4\">\n<div>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>The Steelers ran a flea-flicker by accident..<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Rodgers to Jaylen Warren: \u201cWhat are you doing?\u2026 It wasn\u2019t a flea flicker.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>To Rodgers\u2019 credit, he didn\u2019t completely throw Warren under the bus with his answer. But his answer was more forthright than Tomlin\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, that\u2019s assuming the play wasn\u2019t a flea flicker. Steelers fans can pick who they want to believe.<\/p>\n<div id=\"0bf22fe9ad3d2d53538194946eb6c191\">\n<div data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ASaunders_PGH\/status\/1979036261277929675\">\n<blockquote data-dnt=\"true\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Mike Tomlin said that the #Steelers&#8217; flea-flicker in the first half was called.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Rodgers said it was not.<\/p>\n<p>Choose your own adventure, I guess.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) October 17, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As crazy as it sounds, there\u2019s also a scenario where both Tomlin and Rodgers could both be correct. The call from offensive coordinator Arthur Smith could have been a flea flicker. But then Rodgers may have checked to a different play at the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where the miscommunication could have happened \u2014 Rodgers changed the play, but Warren missed the check.<\/p>\n<p>Connecting the dots, that\u2019s a possibility. Regardless, the end result was an incomplete pass and a missed opportunity to score again on the second offensive drive of the game.<\/p>\n<p>Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Steelers<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers gave a contradicting response to Mike Tomlin&#8217;s on the team&#8217;s failed flea flicker vs. the Bengals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udd25 LOCKER ROOM ALERT: Aaron Rodgers challenges Tomlin\u2019s version of the busted trick play \u2014 fans sense cracks forming inside the Steelers\u2019 offense! - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=108849\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udd25 LOCKER ROOM ALERT: Aaron Rodgers challenges Tomlin\u2019s version of the busted trick play \u2014 fans sense cracks forming inside the Steelers\u2019 offense! 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