The Pittsburgh Steelers opened the Mike McCarthy era with an encouraging 28-9 preseason victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. Pittsburgh produced 385 total yards, converted four of its five trips inside the red zone and did not commit a turnover during its first game under the new coaching staff.
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Steelers' Mike McCarthy at league meetings during the 2026 offseason.
Those numbers provided McCarthy with plenty to appreciate. The passing game moved the football, rookie quarterback Drew Allar delivered three total touchdowns and the defense prevented Green Bay from reaching the end zone. However, Pittsburgh’s performance was far from clean.
The Steelers committed 11 penalties for 134 yards, creating the type of self-inflicted damage that could become fatal during the regular season. McCarthy immediately acknowledged that problem while offering an interesting evaluation of his team’s overall performance while speaking to the media after his first win in the Steel City.
"The passing game, I’ll be honest with you, I’m looking at it a lot differently than that, to be honest with you," McCarthy said. "…I thought we got off to a good start, but the obvious negative is the penalties were way too high. It’s important for us to be extremely accountable. This is an excellent game to grade as a coaching staff because there are a lot of good things that went on out there. It’s good to get a win at home and feel that, especially our first time together."
McCarthy’s willingness to emphasize accountability after a decisive win should encourage Steelers fans. It would have been easy to celebrate the final score and excuse the penalties as normal preseason mistakes, but Pittsburgh’s new head coach understands how quickly those errors can determine meaningful games.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike McCarthy stands in front of the media to answer questions as the team goes through 2026 mandatory minicamp workouts in Pittsburgh, PA.
The penalties slightly undermine an otherwise positive performance. Still, this was the first time Pittsburgh’s new players, schemes and coaches operated together in a game environment. Some sloppiness was predictable, and there is currently no reason to treat it as a major concern. What matters now is whether the Steelers correct those mistakes before they become a pattern.
McCarthy also offered a vague explanation that created an unanswered question about what happened behind the scenes before the game.
"But we all, me included, had some things we had to adjust today because of things that happened last minute administratively," McCarthy said.
McCarthy did not explain what those administrative developments were, but he mentioned them for a reason. The most reasonable possibility is that Pittsburgh encountered a late personnel-related situation that forced the coaching staff to adjust its original plan. Until McCarthy or someone within the organization provides additional information, anything more specific would be speculation.
Steelers Must Quickly Correct Costly Penalties
The mysterious administrative development adds intrigue to McCarthy’s first victory, but Pittsburgh’s discipline is the more important long-term issue. The Steelers will not consistently overcome 134 penalty yards once starters are playing complete games and every possession carries greater consequences.
McCarthy appears to understand that reality. His decision to immediately highlight accountability instead of allowing the 19-point victory to hide Pittsburgh’s mistakes established the correct standard for his new team. The Steelers should enjoy a successful debut, but they also received plenty of material to correct before their next preseason game.
Pittsburgh’s passing attack showed promise with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard, while Allar created genuine excitement and the coaching staff successfully navigated unexpected changes. Now, McCarthy must ensure that the penalties disappear while preserving everything that worked. His first game produced more reasons for optimism than concern, but the Steelers still have substantial work ahead.
Allar became the defining story of this contest. The third-round rookie completed 10 of his 13 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. His performance was significantly more positive than negative and offered Steeler Nation legitimate reason to become more optimistic about his development.
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