Steelers star fumes at Josh Allen's cheap shot and claims QB goes unpunished: 'It just p***es me off'

Steelers veteran Cam Heyward's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills came in response to a cheep shot from reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen, according to Pittsburgh's defensive captain.

'[I was] ticked off the entire game because, as a quarterback, they're protected, but I'm not,' Heyward told reporters. 'It just p***es me off.'

The alleged incident appeared to occur midway through the second quarter after Heyward tackled Allen on a short run.

It was then, Heyward explained, that Allen gave him an intentional knee to the midsection.

Asked if he thought it was intentional, the decorated defensive tackle said he thought it was.

'He even said after, "I had to do something to get you off me,"' Heyward added.

The two continued jawing, ultimately resulting in a penalty for Heyward. Allen, though, wasn't nearly as upset about the heated exchange.

Asked if it got out of hand, Allen agreed: 'Maybe a little bit.'

Then he launched into a complimentary answer about Heyward, a potential future Hall of Famer.

'I love the competitiveness out of this game,' Allen said. 'He's such a great player. Sometimes you need fire like that to get you going.'

Heyward was productive on Sunday, making eight tackles, but couldn't prevent Pittsburgh's second-half collapse.

Afterwards, Aaron Rodgers vented his frustration about his teammates with reporters.

'When there's film sessions, everyone shows up,' he said before adding: 'When I check to a route, run the right route.

'Jonnu [Smith] and I weren't on the same page,' Rodgers continued. 'I checked to his in-breaker and he ran an out-breaker. Jonnu is a true professional, so I'm sure he's sick about that.'

Rodgers also called out himself for an errant pass during the game, admitting: 'I got to make that throw.'

But Rodgers wasn't quite finished. Without saying who has missed film sessions, he again encouraged everyone to attend.

'We have our meetings every week,' Rodgers said. 'We have other opportunities outside of the facility, and look forward to seeing all the boys there.'

On Sunday, Rodgers' frustrations were obvious after completing just 10 of 21 passes for 117 yards as Pittsburgh blew a 7-3 halftime lead.

And the bloody nose injury he suffered certainly didn't help matters.

With Pittsburgh opening the second half from their own 26-yard line, Rodgers dropped back to pass but was unaware of Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa crashing the pocket from the blind side. Bosa then launched himself onto Rodgers' shoulders, dropping the 41-year-old passer and sending his face into the turf as the ball became dislodged.

Buffalo's Christian Benford was perfectly positioned to recover the fumble and waltzed in for an easy touchdown. The ensuing PAT gave the Bills a 10-7 lead, but the bigger concern was Rodgers, who was briefly sidelined as trainers tended to the cut across the bridge of his nose.

The turnover helped Buffalo turn the game around in the second half.

After entering halftime trailing 7-3, the Bills scored 23 unanswered points due in no small part to Bosa's sack.

With Rodgers on the sideline, backup Mason Rudolph stepped in only to be picked off by Benford, celebrated to turnovers in a little over a minute of play.

Allen responded with an eight-play, 56-yard drive culminating with a one-yard touchdown pass to Keon Coleman for a 16-7 lead.

Allen later added an eight-yard touchdown run of his own.

There was some good news for Rodgers on an otherwise depressing day for the Steelers: The future Hall of Famer became just the fifth player in NFL history to eclipse 65,000 passing yards.

Rodgers trails only Tom brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and former teammate Brett Favre in career passing yards.

The Steelers are now just 6-6, and although they still have a share of first place in the lowly AFC North, fans still called for head coach Mike Tomlin to be fired on Sunday .

And Tomlin didn't blame them, either.

'I share their frustration tonight,' Tomlin told reporters when asked about the chants after the loss. 'We didn't do enough. That's just the reality of it.'

According to a long-time Steelers fan known on X as '@PghJarron,' this is new territory for Tomlin.

'I may be mistaken, but this appears to be the first time I've ever heard 'Fire Tomlin' chants,' he wrote on X.

Just the team's third head coach since 1969, Tomlin is now seen by many as a symbol of owner Art Rooney's refusal to change. Pittsburgh has not gone beyond the opening round of the NFL playoffs since 2017 and Tomlin's Super Bowl victory is now a distant memory some 17 seasons later.

Rodgers defended Tomlin after the loss, saying: 'I believe in the coaching staff and I believe in Mike Tomlin.'

He also admitted he needs to 'play better.'

The Steelers initially looked vastly improved this season with the newly acquired Rodgers under center, getting off to a 4-1 start.

Since then, Pittsburgh has lost five of seven games, culminating with Sunday's second-half collapse.