The Pittsburgh Steelers are searching for plenty of answers following their 20-3 loss on the road in Week 2 to the New England Patriots. The idea of bringing Mike McCarthy in as well as Aaron Rodgers returning at quarterback was to take their offense to new heights in the 2026 season. However, they have not been able to do that through the first two weeks as they have managed to score just one touchdown on offense. Their defense has played extremely well. However, their offense has struggled and really does not have much to build on. That is the number one storyline headling into Week 3.
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Steelers' Aaron Rodgers speaks with Head Coach Mike McCarthy before a home preseason game in 2026.
From the offensive line struggling, to veteran wide receiver DK Metcalf dropping passes so far, there are a lot of issues that stick out with the team currently. They face a big challenge in Week 3 as their division rival, the Cincinnati Bengals, head to town with a high-powered offense led by quarterback Joe Burrow. While the defense has stepped up big, the offense needs to help them out by putting some points on the board and sustaining drives in the process.
On Tuesday, former Black and Gold quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hosted an episode of his Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger podcast. The former legendary franchise signal-caller mentioned he saw nothing from the game in New England to build on. However, he did have an interesting idea to try and get the offense moving.
“I can’t even watch this game and be like, ‘Okay, let’s build on this,’” Roethlisberger said. “Nothing looked good to me. I’m just being honest. We didn’t run the ball well enough. I would say this, let’s build on Jaylen Warren running the ball more. Because he can do it. But again, if the line is not opening the holes, if they’re not protecting for Aaron [Rodgers] to throw the ball, what are we building on?”
While last Sunday's performance definitely gave Pittsburgh great reason to question if there was anything to build on, they have to find something to start with. Running back Jaylen Warren could be the focal point of establishing some sort of identity on offense. He fell just short of a 1,000-yard rushing season in 2025 throughout 15 total starts.
He has shown in the past that he can be a feature back for the Pittsburgh offense so this may be the answer that the team needs moving forward. Right now, they lack any sort of offensive identity because there is not much they are doing right. However, getting their veteran running back going could go a long way in providing a spark to help get them going and start producing.
Steelers Leaning On Warren Can Pay Off In A Massive Way
Leaning on Warren like the Steelers have before could help in a number of different ways for the offense under McCarthy. He wants to allow Rodgers to throw the ball, but that has been a struggle. However, feeding their running back can get the ball moving early on in games while also opening up the play-action pass to keep defenses guessing for their veteran quarterback to start slinging the ball around on the field.
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Jaylen Warren leaps over a defender during a game for the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium during the 2025 season.
The 2025 Steelers offense was serviceable enough that it paved the way for them to go 10-7 on the year and win the AFC North division. However, they were expected to take a massive step forward given the offensive talent that McCarthy has worked with in the past. Despite hiring him as the head coach to improve it while also adding weapons for Rodgers, they have been a huge disappointment early on in this 2026 NFL season. In fact, he recently called them out and is not happy with the results. If they want to see their coach's attitude change toward that, it may be time to get Warren going early so they can start gaining some traction.
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