The Pittsburgh Steelers walked into Foxborough, Massachusetts on Sunday to play their first road game of the 2026 season, and things did not go as planned. The Steelers lost by three scores and could only muster up three points on the day. Through two games, the offense has managed to score just 16 points, which is obviously near the bottom of the NFL. Mike McCarthy likely pictured a different start to the 2026 season for his offense in his first year as the head coach of his hometown team, but that has not been the case through two weeks.
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Steelers' Mike McCarthy greets Mike Vrabel before a road game against the Patriots in 2026.
The hiring of McCarthy as head coach broke some trends for Pittsburgh as the organization typically likes to have a defensive-minded head coach running the show. McCarthy doesn't fit that mold, especially since he is also the play caller for the Steelers. He has called some extremely successful offenses in the past with Aaron Rodgers under center, but it is clear that the two are not in their primes anymore. Yards and points have been hard to come by for Pittsburgh, and those around the league are taking notice.
Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show in New England the day after every game to discuss how the game unfolded and his feelings about his team. He acknowledged that there are still issues with the defense in New England even though it held Pittsburgh to just three points, and he threw a jab at Pittsburgh at the same time.
"I mean there's things defensively," Vrabel said. "There's things everywhere. I don't think [they were] maybe one of the best offenses we'll face all year, so try to keep things in perspective and go from there."
To boil things down, Vrabel basically acknowledged that the Pittsburgh offense is severely underwhelming, and he thinks his defense should have played as well as it did. The fact that his defense held the Steelers to three points does not mean that they are one of the best units in the league, it just means that the group took advantage of a struggling opponent.
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Steelers' Mike McCarthy shakes hands with Mike Vrabel after his first regular season loss as head coach with Pittsburgh.
Vrabel isn't wrong, and no one in the building in Pittsburgh should be offended by a comment like this. He just acknowledged what was already obvious, the offense hasn't been great for the Steelers. It is just weird to hear a head coach talk like this as coaches in the league usually beat around the bush and don't say things as point blank as Vrabel did. Typically head coaches give an answer that sounds a bit more PR-trained than what Vrabel said, but everything he said was true. The Patriots have Super Bowl aspirations, and no one in that locker room should be letting their head get too big over beating a team that looks like it might be picking in the top half of the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft.
Steelers May Have Given Mike Vrabel Some Bulletin Board Material
Vrabel was in the headlines throughout the 2026 offseason due to some things that might have happened off the field that not many people around the league talked about. Even major outlets like ESPN left the topic alone, which was definitely bizarre considering he is a highly recognizable NFL coach. One player that was not afraid to speak up about it was Rodgers, and he was outspoken about the situation during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, and then right before the regular season began during an appearance on Not Just Football With Cam Heyward. That could have given Vrabel, his staff, and his team some extra motivation to go out there and dominate the Pittsburgh offense.
There is no doubt that the Steelers need to improve on offense, and that will be hard to do against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3.
What do you think about these comments from Vrabel about the Steelers offense? Are they warranted? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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