Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin Clash Over Controversial Flea Flicker Call—What Really Happened on the Field?

Thursday night’s showdown against the Bengals was supposed to be a showcase for the Steelers—but what we got instead was a chaotic spectacle that perfectly embodied a team out of sync. Early in the game, quarterback Aaron Rodgers handed off to Jaylen Warren, who flipped it right back in a flea flicker attempt… except Rodgers didn’t see any open receivers and ended up tossing the ball away, clearly frustrated as he barked at Warren. Talk about mixed signals! What makes it even wilder is the postgame confusion: Rodgers swears the play wasn’t designed as a flea flicker, but Coach Mike Tomlin insists it was. Somewhere between the headset and the field, communication dissolved into mystery, leaving us all scratching our heads. Without a deeper squad explanation, this botched play remains an enigma wrapped in Steelers’ miscommunication. LEARN MORE

In the first quarter of Thursday night’s loss to the Bengals, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers handed the ball off to running back Jaylen Warren, who pitched it back to Rodgers for a flea flicker. But Rodgers didn’t have any receivers open and just threw the ball away, then yelled at Warren after the play. Clearly, the Steelers’ offense was not on the same page.

After the game, the Steelers still weren’t on the same page.

When Rodgers was asked about it, he said the play call was not a flea flicker.

“It wasn’t supposed to be a flea flicker. We weren’t on the same page,” Rodgers said.

But Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was also asked after the game if a flea flicker was called, and Tomlin answered, “It was.”

So what happened? There was clearly a breakdown in communication somewhere between the play that was called into Rodgers’ helmet and the play that was executed on the field, but unless we get further explanation from the Steelers, no one can be completely sure what exactly went wrong on the broken play.