Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Sees Huge Potential For Pittsburgh's Offense To "Explode" In 2026

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to return to their former championship form. They are well known as one of the most successful franchises in NFL history. Their championship pedigree is rivaled only by the New England Patriots with six championships each. However, while the Patriots are still making Super Bowls, as they did this year in their loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers are faltering, going 0/7 in their last seven playoff games. To get back into form, the Steelers will need a jumpstart, especially on the offensive end, where they've looked pedestrian for far too long at this point.

The Steelers are at a crossroads. They're a win-now team, as evidenced by the hiring of new head coach Mike McCarthy. For a team that's on an NFL record 22 straight non-losing seasons streak, the Steelers have to find a way to convert this into playoff success. In the team's most recent playoff loss this past season, they scored just six points at home to the Houston Texans in an embarrassing showing. While the Texans have one of the best defenses in the NFL, the Steelers' offense looked completely outmatched.

Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger was recently on the DVE Morning Show and expressed optimism about the Black and Gold's future offensively.

"Let's hope for a veteran (UFA at WR)," said Roethlisberger. "Hope for a guy in the draft (at WR). And then, hopefully McCarthy will use [Pat] Freiermuth a lot more. There's the potential for this offense to really explode."

Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth was lost in the shuffle a bit last season. The promising tight end was simply not used enough, and Roethlisberger was as vocal as anyone about this misstep. The Steelers' offense is destined to look much different this season under McCarthy. He is known as a quarterback whisperer, a heavy proponent of three-receiver sets. These spread-out formations and a higher-volume passing attack should open up the offense for Freiermuth to truly play like his former self. For the Steelers to get to where they want to go, they'll need their tight end to show once again that he is among the league's best.

With McCarthy's West Coast offense, the Steelers will need to add receivers to round out the unit. Steelers star receiver DK Metcalf was often double-teamed due to the lack of reliable weapons the Steelers had at the receiver position last season opposite of him. Roethlisberger calls for both a free agent acquisition and one added through the draft, perhaps promising Washington receiver Denzel Boston, whose been widely rumored to be selected by the Steelers next month.

Steelers Will Need To Rebuild Offense

The Steelers' playmakers were simply not good enough last season. They'll have to give Metcalf the proper weapons so he's not consistently double-teamed and can put up the numbers he did with the Seahawks. Metcalf is still firmly in his prime, and if the Steelers add at the receiver position, they'll likely get the most out of Metcalf and thus out of their offense as a result. Where the Steelers go from here will largely depend on what they do in the upcoming free agency window, which begins in about a week.

Whether the Steelers have Aaron Rodgers under center again, or another quarterback, they will not be set up for success unless they give them the tools to succeed. The Steelers have a win-now roster as mentioned and a talented enough defense where they can compete with anyone defensively. However, if the Steelers are in a situation as they were in the playoffs against the Texans, they'll need an offense that can match another team's dominant offense. The Steelers' defense showed up in their playoff game far more than the 30-6 score indicated; however, they simply did not play complementary football on offense. If they can get legitimate receivers this offseason, the Steelers may be able to finally break their playoff-win skid under McCarthy. 

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