The Pittsburgh Steelers' win in Paris, France on Sunday now has them on a three-game winning streak ahead of a home clash with their division rival Cleveland Browns. Despite the 16-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints in an international game, the offense for Head Coach Mike McCarthy still left a lot to be desired in the contest. One issue that is hindering them from reaching their potential is the inconsistent play from their offensive line week to week. Those inconsistencies tend to show up when they play on the road. On Tuesday, former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch mentioned this trend from them.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers' offensive line during a regular season game in Paris, France in October of 2026.
One player who particularly struggled on Sunday was offensive tackle Troy Fautanu. He was going against former second overall pick Chase Young and some difficulty in the matchup. In the game, Young had one and a half sacks, as well as a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits. The offensive line struggles have been a key issue when McCarthy's group struggles to put points on the board.
During Tuesday's episode of The Snap Count podcast, Batch discussed the issues with the offensive line with former NFL offensive lineman Trai Essex. Essex did mention that some issues were exposed again with Fautanu, particularly his technique with his initial punch and his legs. The former Steelers quarterback also made note of a specific trend he has seen out of the entire offensive line.
“We didn’t see it as much in Tampa because it was majority Steelers fans,” Batch said. “But when this team has to deal with crowd noise, that’s where you see the decline on the offensive tackle when you talk about their grades.”
In the only two losses by McCarthy's group so far this season, they came out on the losing end in games in Cleveland and on the road against the New England Patriots. In that Week 2 loss against New England, the offense was only able to put three points on the board in a 20-3 loss. The game itself became very uncompetitive once the Patriots took the lead as the offense became very pedestrian.
Many of the issues can be attributed to quarterback Aaron Rodgers being without two of his wide receivers, Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson, due to injuries. A recent update was provided on Pittman and from the sounds of things, the future of his 2026 season looks like it is very much up in the air. However, rookie wide receiver Germie Bernard has become an excellent option for Rodgers to get the ball out to quickly, especially with the athleticism he brings and his ability to make plays in space with the football. That is where the offensive line, at least on the road, has to make it easier on their quarterback so he can read defenses to generate offense.
Steelers' Offensive Line Must Figure Out The Reason For Road Woes
The offensive line for McCarthy's group is going to have to figure out what is causing their inconsistent play on the road. The one aspect to keep in mind is that rookie Max Iheanachor is basically learning on the fly as an NFL offensive lineman. It is very possible that the road crowds are causing the offensive line to be flustered, which is then leading to mistakes. The unit could try to work in some silent counts moving forward to help fix the issue to see if play improves on the road.
Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Max Iheanachor (71) is introduced before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.
Regardless of the injuries to two wide receivers, the Steelers have a quarterback who is a four-time NFL MVP that has also won a Super Bowl. If Rodgers is given time to read defenses, he can pick them apart like some of the best to ever do it in the NFL. However, he is not going to be able do that in road games if his offensive line cannot squash this trend of struggles.
What do you think of Batch's comments? Be sure to follow us for more news!
#SteelerNation