The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered an ugly 20-3 defeat in their Week 2 matchup with the New England Patriots. There were very few positives to take from the game, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Pittsburgh has struggled with offensive consistency for quite some time, but Sunday was a whole new level of bad. Although the entire offense is to blame for its performance, the Steelers' 2026 first-round pick got some good news regarding his potential.
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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Troy Fautanu (76) defends quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) from New England Patriots linebacker Elijah Ponder (91) during the second half at Gillette Stadium.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers struggled mightily on Sunday, but he had no help from anyone on the offense. The pass catchers could not get separation and consistently dropped balls, especially star wide receiver DK Metcalf, who already had a rough start to the season in Week 1. The running game was nonexistent yet again. The worst aspect against the Patriots was the offensive line. They looked completely lost, and this resulted in Rodgers being on the ground for a large portion of the game. He took some huge shots, something that the 42-year-old needs to avoid if he is going to stay healthy for the entire season.
Pittsburgh's offensive line needs a change and it needs it now. On paper, it looks like a solid, young group. The performance through two weeks does not support that at all, however. The unit has been awful in every aspect, which seems like the main contribution to the offense being as miserable as it has been.
The organization used its 2026 first-round pick on offensive tackle Max Iheanachor who has seen minimal action in the first two weeks of the season. It sounds like Head Coach Mike McCarthy has a plan for the young player. In the latest McCarthy Monday press conference, McCarthy was asked about the development of Iheanachor.
"Max has taken a step each and every week," McCarthy explained. "He got a few snaps the other night, which was good. I thought he had a really good day Thursday during padded work. He is definitely making big steps. He is getting better."
That is high praise for Iheanachor, who was seen as a very raw prospect coming out of Arizona State. The Steelers' current starting right tackle, Dylan Cook, has been competing for the spot with Iheanachor throughout the preseason and into the regular season. Cook has arguably been the worst offensive lineman through two weeks, which has resulted in Rodgers constantly under pressure. While this is not good for the team's ability on offense, it is good news for Iheanachor. We could very well see him starting sooner rather than later.
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Steelers offensive lineman Max Iheanachor on the field as the team warms up prior to getting a practice session done during 2026 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
On one hand, Iheanachor had a solid preseason and training camp and looks like he is ahead of schedule in his maturity and transition to the NFL. On the other hand, he is a raw prospect who did not begin playing football until he was in high school. There is a chance he is thrown in and performs poorly, hindering his development. While this would not be good for the team, it is hard to perform worse than the offensive line already has through two weeks. Iheanachor is worth a shot, especially if the offense does not significantly improve in Week 3 when the Steelers take on the rival Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.
The Steelers Need Answers Now
Pittsburgh's recent play is not sustainable as the majority of the defense is aging and injuries could begin to pile up. Whether the Steelers' offensive line is the main problem or not is up for discussion, but the reality is that the team needs to make changes immediately, or the 2026 season could go up in flames. Pittsburgh's 2026 regular season schedule only gets tougher and if the offense cannot even stay on the field now, it could get very ugly come midseason.
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