The Pittsburgh Steelers looked absolutely horrible against the New England Patriots in Week 2. When an offense scores fewer points than the opposing defense, nobody is coming out with positives from the contest. They combined for an interception off of a drop and two fumbles, with one of them being lost. There three turnover-worthy plays for a team that put up three points on the board. If that offensive performance continues throughout the rest of the season, the non-losing season streak may finally come to an end once and for all.
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Steelers' Mike McCarthy greets Mike Vrabel before a road game against the Patriots in 2026.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers understands just how dire things are on that side of the ball. He explained his mindset on the whole situation during his postgame press conference.
"Yeah, it's frustrating for sure. Our defense has been playing great. They've been holding 13 points per game in two games," Rodgers said. "Offensively, we're averaging eight points per game. It's not winning football."
That "frustrating" part is obvious, but it still has to be said out loud. The defense is doing its job on a regular basis. There have been some hiccups on some drives here and there, but that unit also has as many touchdowns as the Steelers' offense does in 2025. That is completely inexcusable, even if it's just two weeks in. If they can't move the ball against the Atlanta Falcons, how can they move the ball against anyone?
It all starts with the offensive line. Making everyone flip sides seems to be a terrible idea in hindsight, as it looks like everyone has regressed hard. The Patriots had no trouble getting into the backfield and ruining everything all game long. Both fumbles came on strip-sacks that stemmed from pass rushers finding easily lanes on the blind side. What's going to happen when the Steelers play a team with elite edge rushers?
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Steelers' Aaron Rodgers takes a hit during a road loss to the Patriots in 2026.
The receiver room also has issues. DK Metcalf has proven that he is not a WR1 in the league, even though the Steelers were desperate for him to take that role. He was unable to escape one-on-one coverage with Christian Gonzalez all game long, and even when he did, he had a pair of drops yet again. Int he first two weeks, he has played like a liability.
It's not just Metcalf. All game long, the Steelers had trouble getting any sort of separation. There is a lot of talent in the receiver room, but none of the guys seem to be able to win off the line of scrimmage. The secret to beating this offense seems to be out: play press coverage and blitz Rodgers. If Pittsburgh can't adjust to this obvious gameplan, that frustrating eight points per game may continue throughout the season.
Rodgers himself looks shaky. It makes sense that he's not comfortable behind this offensive line, but his reads are also off. There were a few times that he did have wide open receivers, but he missed them and targeted someone else. At the end of the day, it is clear that nobody is in sync, and everyone is at fault for how bad everything looks through two weeks.
Steelers Seeing 1 Of Mike McCarthy's Greatest Weaknesses First-Hand
Head Coach Mike McCarthy has been praised as a quality offensive mind and quarterback guru, and he has limited himself to just doing those things instead of getting in the way of his assistant coaches. His biggest issue is that he tends to overthink everything, and it comes back to bite him. He keeps trying to play 4D chess, but it just never works out.
The offensive line didn't need to be completely shaken up after a quality 2025 performance. The Steelers didn't need to abandon the jumbo sets, which were the strength of the unit in the previous season. The offense wasn't even the big problem with the team, as it had more good games than bad ones. Everything got changed, and now it's hurting Pittsburgh.
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