Aaron Rodgers Admits He Was Sick During Steelers Playoff Loss: Is This the Excuse or the Reason?
Aaron Rodgers has confirmed what a lot of people wondered watching the Steelers’ AFC Wild Card loss to the Texans last January. He was really sick. He probably should not have played.
Rodgers told Michael Silver of The Athletic that he was battling flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to that playoff game. The team hotel sent him home the night before because he was pale and looked, in his own words, like he had been run over. He had a fever, was vomiting, and former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said Rodgers was downplaying how bad it was.
“There was never a question he was gonna play, and he’s never one to complain, but he looked terrible before the game,” Smith said.
Rodgers went out and threw for 146 yards on 17 of 33 with two turnovers in a losing effort. The Texans defense was excellent that day, but Rodgers looked slow, unwilling to move in the pocket, and mentally checked out for stretches. Now we know why.
Here is the honest read. Being sick did not cost Pittsburgh that playoff game. Houston was the better team on that day, at their home stadium, with a defense playing at its peak. The Steelers’ offense had been struggling for weeks before Rodgers ever got the flu, and the whole season was trending toward a one-and-done result even if he had felt like Superman.
But you also cannot ignore what this admission is really about. It is Rodgers giving fans a reason to soften the memory. It is a version of the record that includes an asterisk. “He was really sick, that is why the game got away from him.” That is the frame he wants people to carry into 2026.
Fine. He is a Hall of Fame quarterback and he probably deserves benefit of the doubt on a Wild Card game he tried to play through a fever. Anyone who has tried to work with the flu knows how brutal that is, and playing a professional football game on top of that is another level.
What matters more is what he does this fall. Rodgers is coming back for one more season with the Steelers, which he confirmed in the same interview. That means he gets a real, healthy runway to see what this thing actually is. If he plays like a top-ten quarterback, the flu excuse becomes a footnote. If he does not, it becomes the moment fans point to as the beginning of the ending.
Mike Tomlin’s team needs an offense that scores in the postseason. That is the mission. It has been the mission for years. Aaron Rodgers healthy in December is the version of him that pays off the trade, the contract, and all the drama that came with him.
The flu excuse is a story that lasts until the first regular season kickoff. After that, no one wants to hear about it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
