PITTSBURGH — Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers did not shed much light into the decision that kept him from playing against Chicago, nor the chances of him returning in time to face Buffalo on Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium.

But Rodgers had plenty to say about why the Steelers find themselves on the outside looking in at the AFC playoff picture with six weeks remaining in the regular season. Rodgers said the Steelers have to start playing “the right way” and need to take a more serious approach.

“You have to be on the details,” Rodgers said following Wednesday’s practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “It’s the same thing we’ve been talking about all year. There have been too many times we haven’t been able to survive downs, I guess is the best way to put it. There was a mental error or missed assignment and we’re not able to survive the down and get through it with an incompletion, a zero-yard gain or a dump-off that keeps us in front of the sticks. We have to do a better job with that.”

One glaring example came late in the 31-28 loss to the Bears when the Steelers were called for an illegal formation on a play that negated a 22-yard scramble by backup quarterback Mason Rudolph. CBS cameras caught Rodgers on the sideline recognizing the formation was illegal before the play was run. For the record, Rudolph said Wednesday it’s his job to recognize the mistake and correct it.

“We have to have better communication,” Rudolph said. “We had kind of a miscommunication on the scramble. That would have set us up. It’s my job as a quarterback to keep that straight.”

It was the latest of many unforced errors that have contributed to some of the close losses the Steelers have taken. There was rookie running back Kaleb Johnson not knowing the kickoff rule that cost the Steelers a touchdown late in the loss to the Seahawks in Week 2. There were blown coverage assignments in the final minute of the loss in Cincinnati and many other smaller details throughout games that have been problematic.

“We’ve been trying to figure that out all season,” Rodgers said. “This is the time where the focus has to maybe go up a little bit and the serious approach maybe needs to tighten up a little more. I love what a loose team we are, but sometimes you have to crank that thing up maybe 1% and get more locked in.

“It’s really on the players. Monday to Saturday is when you win a lot of these football games, being able to fix things when they happen in real time, making a bad play doable. If we do that, we’ll be in position to win all six of these games.”

When a reporter referenced the ups and downs in the team’s play during the current 2-4 stretch, Rodgers corrected him and pointed out the inconsistencies have been there for all 11 games.

“The preparation is there,” he said. “It’s the execution. I wouldn’t say it’s been up and down the last six weeks. This has been the entire season. We’ve just been a little off on some of the details.”

As for his playing status for the Bills game, you’ll have to wait until after Thanksgiving for more clarity there. Rodgers, who fractured his left wrist in the Cincinnati game 10 days ago, did not practice Wednesday. But he does plan to practice Thursday and Friday. He had a similar schedule last week before it was decided Saturday that he would not play.

“There have been very few times an injury has been significant enough to keep me off the field,” Rodgers said. “That was definitely disappointing.”

He’s hoping for a better outcome this week and believes the extra few days will help his injury heal, but he is still dealing with discomfort. Rodgers said he does not yet feel well enough to take a snap from under center and acknowledged there are limitations that come with playing with a cast on his wrist.

When asked if he needed clearance from team doctors to play, Rodgers said, “I’ve never had that understanding.”

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