The Pittsburgh Steelers have been hard to watch offensively through the first two weeks of the 2026 season. The team was able to get the win in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, but a big reason for that was that Atlanta was starting a third-string quarterback. The offense for Pittsburgh didn't look great against a not-so-good defense, so the warning signs were there for Week 2. The New England Patriots were certainly a step up in competition, and that was evident as the offense could only put three points on the board in what wound up being an embarrassing loss for Pittsburgh on the road.
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Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers lines up under center during a Week 2 contest against the Patriots in 2026.
It is easy to say that the offensive line has been the biggest problem for the Steelers through two regular season games, and that is probably true. Whenever a team has a bad starting offensive line, it makes it extremely hard to win football games. The running game struggles, which in turn leads to the passing game struggling. Play-action is hard to pull off, and overall an offense will just look out of it if the five men in the trenches cannot consistently do their jobs. However, there are others to blame on offense for Pittsburgh as well.
Many argue that quarterback Aaron Rodgers has not looked good in his first two starts of 2026 as well. He has faced a decent amount of pressure, but his throws have been off target and he has held onto the ball at times. There have been several occasions where his throws are landing at his wide receiver's feet, and beat writer Gerry Dulac joined The DVE Morning Show on Monday and shared that the veteran quarterback needs to be held accountable too.
"We saw the disconnect in the passing game last week, you know trying to attack downfield, gaffes by the receivers," Dulac said. "Yesterday, they weren't able to go downfield. And Mike McCarthy even said afterwards that that isn't how they want to play. They don't want to dink and dunk it. They want to be able to attack, and they weren't able to attack. A lot of that is on the offensive line, but you know, Aaron Rodgers has to be culpable, he is not to be excused."
Head Coach Mike McCarthy, who is also the play-caller, has been clear in saying that he wants the offense to be able to take shots down the field. There were some signs of that against Atlanta in Week 1, although there wasn't much success. Those shots weren't really taken in Week 2, and it is clear McCarthy wanted to see some of that based on how he spoke after the loss. This situation highlights a disconnect between the two.
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Mike McCarthy watches from the sideline during a Week 2 game against the Patriots.
Rodgers and McCarthy have a long and well-documented working relationship, and the two have had a ton of success together. However, they haven't been together since the 2018 season when McCarthy was fired by the Green Bay Packers in the middle of the year. It might just take some time for this duo to get on the same page again, and as of right now there shouldn't be anything to worry about. However, if this type of situation continues where Rodgers looks to dink and dunk the ball down the field, it might be cause for concern as that is not what McCarthy wants his offense to look like.
Steelers Need To Put Aaron Rodgers In The Best Situation
If McCarthy and the Steelers want to take shots down the field, everything needs to be set up properly. This means Rodgers needs a clear and balanced platform to throw from, and there needs to be opportunities to hit players down field. If no one is open, he is not the type of quarterback that can scramble and make something happen, and the offensive line has already proven that it cannot be relied upon to protect him consistently.
It will be interesting to see what the Steelers try to do in the passing game in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
What do you think about this disconnect between the head coach and quarterback? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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