Steelers' Favorite Player In Baltimore Now On The Verge Of Losing His Job After Another Troubling Performance

The Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC North in 2025, but that did not stop the organization from having to go through an incredible amount of change. Mike Tomlin stepped down from his post as the team's head coach and Mike McCarthy was brought in to defend that division title. While it is pretty widely recognized that the Cleveland Browns will be the worst of the four teams in 2026, the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals have strong rosters, and will be very much in play to host a postseason game at home. It should have been the franchise from Maryland a year ago, but a missed field goal ruined its season.

The Steelers and Ravens faced off in the league's last matchup as the game was flexed to primetime because the division was on the line. At the very end of the exciting showdown, it all came down to a couple of seconds and the leg of then-rookie Tyler Loop. After being impressive for the majority of his first professional season, he crumbled under pressure, handing the Steelers an AFC North crown.

Fans in Pittsburgh were all smiles, but the ones in Baltimore saw a domino effect like no other. John Harbaugh was fired not too long after the loss and a new regime, led by Jesse Minter, has arrived in town. Unfortunately for the new staff, it is already receiving criticism for how it has handled Loop specifically. In the team's third and final preseason game on Friday, the kicker missed another two attempts, fueling a lot of questions.

Loop did end up hitting two out of four kicks, one of which was from 51 yards; however, making field goals at a 50% clip is not acceptable for someone who is supposed to be a top-notch NFL kicker. After the contest, Minter spoke to reporters and was not committable about his confidence and what this means for the Steelers' rival moving forward.

"You want to see makes in games and so it's something we'll continue to look at and we'll continue to look at, you know, what the best situation is there," Minter said. "He has had a good camp overall, but again it comes down to making the kicks in the pressure situations in the games so that is something I think we'll always be looking at to make sure we're doing what's best for the team."

Those words aren't exactly encouraging for someone like Loop. A lot of times, head coaches will come out and back their guys up in times of adversity, but Minter seems as if he is starting to get fed up with Loop's inconsistencies, as he has only hit five of eight field goals in the preseason.

Pittsburgh will watch this closely because special teams is always a key part of every year in the AFC North. Games are often won or lost due to critical errors like Loop's last-second missed kick back in January. Now, he could be on the chopping block, or at least have some competition brought in prior to the regular season beginning.

Steelers Are Happy To Have Chris Boswell In The Steel City

Pittsburgh hasn't really had to worry about this particular position for some time. Chris Boswell is arguably the best in the business and was awarded another contract extension because of it just recently. While he did uncharacteristically miss an extra point in that Week 18 matchup versus the Ravens, he is as reliable as they come from a kicking perspective. The Steelers will continue to consider him a weapon rather than some last resort that has to be used when the offense doesn't get it done.

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