The phrase “The Standard is the Standard” soured towards the end of the Mike Tomlin era. Hiring Mike McCarthy, an offense-minded coach, was supposed to fix the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive woes.
In two games of the 2026 NFL season, it has not happened.
An offseason of renewed offensive hope quickly vanished when the Steelers lost 20-3 to the New England Patriots. The defense did all it could with two takeaways and three sacks. However, Pittsburgh’s offense again failed to show meaningful progress at the start of the season.
Several factors contributed to the Steelers’ offensive issues on Sunday. Multiple of those issues carried over from their Week 1 victory against the Atlanta Falcons.
One thing is certain, though: the unit’s performances look identical to the much-maligned offenses under former coordinators Matt Canada and Arthur Smith. That needs to change, or else things could get ugly quick in the Steel City.
Slow Start for the Steelers’ Rushing Game
The backfield of Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren left a lot to be desired once again in Week 2. The tandem totaled 18 carries before Dowdle left the game with a toe injury around the second half. Travis Homer came in as an understudy, but the rushing attack was abandoned by that point.
McCarthy described the attempt to establish a run-pass balance as “herky jerky” in the post-game press conference, though he felt there was improvement from last week (said around the 1:30 mark of the video below).
Numbers-wise, he makes a point. The unit rushed for 91 yards, up from 58 last week. However, Warren and Dowdle posted similar numbers. Homer actually had the best run of the day, rushing for 14 yards in his first of two carries through a wide hole.
A few factors dealt a blow to any hopes for a running game this week. One was the offensive line’s lack of push. While the Patriots’ defense loaded the box with bodies, Pittsburgh’s young group could not open enough quality gaps for their backs to exploit.
The second issue was falling behind early after TreVeyon Henderson gashed the defense for a 39-yard score. An Aaron Rodgers and McCarthy-led offense trailing early in the game will lean harder into the passing game, despite the running game’s effectiveness.
Ineffectiveness Through the Air
If the running game seemed underwhelming, the passing game never came close to meeting expectations (which were already pretty low).
Once again, the offensive line is the prime suspect. Rodgers never got comfortable behind the line, taking a lot of pressure from the Pats’ defensive front. Rodgers’ day can be summed up by a blindside hit that ended with the Steelers at 4th-and-43 after a Looney Tunes-esque fumble-recovery sequence.
The Steelers couldn’t generate separation for their receivers, and Rodgers also wasn’t entirely accurate. Third-down execution was a familiar struggle, and the team converted only two of 12 attempts. Half of those also required about six to seven yards to complete because the run-heavy approach on early downs wasn’t working.
As a unit, this offense is off to the third-worst start since 2022, according to Sam Brucchaus with SumerSports. This season’s Atlanta Falcons, whom the Steelers barely beat last week, are off to the second-worst start in that span. Under an offensive-minded head coach, -0.39 EPA per play in two weeks is completely unacceptable.
Addressing the D.K. in the Room
D.K. Metcalf was once again a negative contributor for the Steelers’ offense.
Rodgers, who has called Metcalf one of his best friends on the team, said after last week’s game that he would “keep feeding him“. That confidence led to nine targets that only produced four catches for 27 yards. Metcalf repeated last week’s performance, dropping in key spots, including a short third down in the third quarter.
Metcalf faced a tougher matchup this week, being blanketed by New England’s star cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez played a cleaner game than AJ Terrell, but Metcalf still had opportunities to help the team in a day without Michael Pittman Jr. available. Regardless, it is inexcusable for a receiver with an average salary of $33 million to have drops like these.
Even while Metcalf has caught less than half of his targets, Rodgers’ loyalty to his friend remains as tough as iron. According to the New England Football Journal, Rodgers soft-spokenly answered that they will get it sorted out.
“I’ll talk with DK, like I always do, and we’ll be fine,” said Rodgers.
For the Steelers’ sake, Rodgers better be right. In an offense that struggles to take off, Metcalf needs to bounce back, and he knows it.
Silver Lining Out of Foxborough
Rookie wideout Germie Bernard was the one glimmer of hope on a day the offense looked as ugly as the Massachusetts sky. Bernard caught four passes for 35 yards while making stellar catches that earned two first downs. On the first, Bernard took advantage of a gap in the middle of the field on his dig route to give Rodgers an open look for the conversion.
Bernard followed that catch with two straight grabs, including a 10-yard gain that put the Steelers on New England’s 25-yard line. That drive would eventually collapse with the aforementioned sack-fumble recovery fiasco, but Bernard did all he could to give Pittsburgh a scoring chance in the second quarter.
Bernard has a lot of positives, but he did blunder late in the game when he juggled a screen pass that fellow rookie Gabe Jacas picked off. However, the play happened with 5 minutes left and a 17-point deficit. Chances of a comeback were slim, even if that play had not happened.
Still, Rodgers addressed the play in his postgame comments, calling it a “rookie play”. Despite it, Rodgers still proclaimed he “saw some growth” from Bernard.
“He’s a good kid and he cares about it. We’re going to need him to keep improving,” said Rodgers.
His words are encouraging for Bernard’s season outlook, especially if Pittman misses more time or Metcalf continues being borderline unplayable with his drops.
What’s Fixable For Week 3?
The Steelers need to figure out how to kickstart their offense next week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The biggest issue this week was the offensive line. The group couldn’t generate much push for the running game and looked completely lost against New England’s six-man pressures. At times, a visible lack of communication left Patriot defenders rushing Rodgers untouched.
Rodgers was completely rattled, and McCarthy agreed in his postgame presser that they needed to give him “better platforms to throw off of.” One possible remedy is a lineman swap. Replacing Spencer Anderson and Dylan Cook with Brock Hoffman and rookie Max Iheanachor could help.
Could these changes help keep Dexter Lawrence and the Cincy defensive line in check next week? Maybe not, but the Pittsburgh Steelers need to give their offseason acquisitions a chance. Any improvement on the line will help this team tremendously. If not, the season will slip away from the Steelers much faster than anticipated.
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