The Pittsburgh Steelers have to quickly put behind a brutal 20-3 road loss to the New England Patriots from Week 2 as they return home. Their divisional rival Cincinnati Bengals will head to town for Week 3 with a 2-0 record and opened up the week as early road favorites against the Black and Gold. There is a long list of what went wrong in Foxborough against New England and things need to turn around quickly. This is especially true for the Pittsburgh offense as they have been underwhelming thus far during the start of the Mike McCarthy era.
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Aaron Rodgers looks to pass during a Week 2 game against the Patriots.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers struggled to move the ball while the running game also had a rough go of it for the second straight week. Despite the 20 points scored in Week 1, seven of those came thanks to a TJ Watt interception return for a touchdown. This start is very concerning given the offensive background of the Black and Gold head coach.
On Monday, longtime team insider Jim Wexell hosted an episode of his Steel City Insider podcast. During the episode, he broke down what went wrong for the team in their Week 2 matchup. He also pointed out something that could help them improve on offense as they prepare for their first divisional matchup of the 2026 NFL season.
“Will they put Brock Hoffman at right guard?” Wexell asked. “That’s a move that seems to make a little sense. I mean nobody knows him better than [Mike] McCarthy, right? That’s why he went and got him out of Dallas.”
When the franchise signed Brock Hoffman this offseason, it was noted that he had a connection to their head coach which may have had some influence in that decision. With much of the offensive line changing sides ahead of the 2026 season, the moves so far have not looked good as the unit has struggled as a whole. However, this theory from Wexell makes sense given the familiarity that Hoffman has with McCarthy offenses due to his time playing for the Dallas Cowboys in his first few NFL seasons.
General Manager Omar Khan and the front office did a great job of adding more weapons to an offense run by quarterback Aaron Rodgers that struggled in 2025. However, to this point, they have only managed to put up 13 points, followed by three points in their loss on Sunday. The veteran signal-caller did not hesitate following the game to call out the team and mention that he feels they are all playing below their standard. This will be an extremely important week of practice for the offense as they are searching for answers ahead of their big matchup against a highly-powered offense led by quarterback Joe Burrow.
Steelers' Offensive Line Must Find Cohesion Immediately
Pittsburgh's O-line was one that was a work in progress this offseason due to the shifting of sides for several players. Shaking things up by putting Hoffman into the starting lineup to try and help the group is definitely on the table given their inability to give Rodgers time to step back and pass. One of the biggest reasons in adding playmakers was to take the offense to new heights in the 2026 season. However, the offensive line has not held up to give their veteran signal-caller the time to get the ball to the playmakers that were added.
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Steelers' Brock Hoffman working out with the team during the 2026 offseason.
The offensive line must find cohesion in order to change the early narrative that has been given to them for the 2026 NFL season. A shake-up like this could help out with that and also serve as a wake-up call for the rest of the group as their struggles have quickly been exposed following their first loss of the season. Hoffman being inserted can also give some expertise to those up front on offense who are working their first year in McCarthy's offense. Sunday showed that the Pittsburgh offense has a lot of room for improvement and a big move like this could spark things as the Bengals come to the Steel City.
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