Steelers Seeing Huge Signs For Concern As Nightmare Scenario Could Strike

The Pittsburgh Steelers played their first preseason game of the 2026 season on Thursday night as the team took down the Green Bay Packers. It was an exciting game to look back on as every quarterback looked good in the matchup, and the rookie class from 2026 showed some promising signs early on. However, there were some concerning elements of the win for Pittsburgh. The obvious issue was the sheer amount of penalties in the game, especially the amount of unsportsmanlike penalties that resulted in the other team gaining 15 yards. The offensive line also looked shaky while accounting for a fair amount of penalties on its own.

All in all, the Steelers were called for 11 penalties for 134 yards. That is brutal, and it is something that cannot happen during the regular season. One of the penalties even wiped points off of the board. Running back Lew Nichols was running the ball down inside the 10, and he bounced it outside and took it into the end zone. Left tackle Troy Fautanu was called for a hold on the play, which wiped points off the board and backed the offense up. The group wound up going for it on fourth down, and the ball was turned over on downs after the Steelers were stopped short.

Beat writer Ray Fittipaldo joined 93.7 The Fan on Friday morning to discuss Thursday night's game. He spoke about Fautanu's performance, and displayed some real concern.

"Fautanu, I don't know at what point we become really concerned," Fittipaldo said. "Like the talent is there, we know he is transitioning to the other side. But Donny, I'll tell you, these false start penalties happen often and he gets pulled and somebody else goes in. It happened again last night. That hold, he just didn't have good position. The running back could go in or out there so it's a tough block, but it was an obvious hold, just can't do that. A lot to clean up there. Eventually, the talent is going to shine through, but I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't at least a little bit concerned at this stage of training camp."

Fautanu had a false start penalty and the holding penalty that was already discussed, and he also had a few poor reps in pass protection. The false starts have been a problem throughout training camp practices in Latrobe, and Fittipaldo stated that he consistently gets pulled out when that issue arises. It is an area that has to be cleaned up before the regular season.

Penalties aside, the play of Fautanu and the rest of the offensive line is going to be critical to the team's success in 2026. The starting quarterback is 42 years old and is essentially a statue when standing in the pocket, so the pass protection has to be stellar. Not to mention the run game needs to be efficient to set things up for the play-action game, which is something that the offense is going to rely on heavily.

Steelers Could Be Facing Major Disappointment

It has already become clear that the 2026 season is probably going to be the last for Broderick Jones in Pittsburgh. He was the Steelers' first-round pick back in 2023, before the team took Fautanu in 2024. Jones can now be classified as a bust, barring some major resurgence in 2026. Fautanu needs to find a way to turn things around, because if he doesn't, the Steelers will be looking at a disastrous pairing of first-round selections.

Fautanu is transitioning positions, so all hope isn't lost. He is adjusting, and it is just going to take some time for him to get comfortable. If more of the same is seen in Pittsburgh's next preseason game, then it might be time to worry.

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