Steelers Insider Exposes Aaron Rodgers' Role In Red Zone Struggles

The Pittsburgh Steelers' quiet trade deadline left plenty of fans underwhelmed, especially without a new wide receiver while Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson work back from injuries. On Wednesday, team insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette held his weekly chat and pointed to quarterback Aaron Rodgers as one possible reason the offense has stalled at times. Despite a four-game winning streak heading out of the bye, there is plenty of room for improvement.

The Pittsburgh passing game ranks 19th in the NFL through its first eight games of the season. At 6-2 and sitting atop the AFC North division, many felt that a move to reinforce the wide receiver room could help move the needle for their chances to contend in 2026. Other AFC contenders, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs, made moves to add help ahead of the deadline on Tuesday. Kansas City traded for wide receiver Josh Downs, a target who was rumored to be drawing interest from Pittsburgh.

Despite the injuries, Head Coach Mike McCarthy found a way to navigate his team through them ahead of their bye week in Week 9. The deadline came and went, but General Manager Omar Khan and the front office did not get that help. During his chat on Wednesday, Dulac was asked if Rodgers had anything to do with the red zone struggles in 2026.

"There's truth to some of that," Dulac said.

The Steelers will now have to move ahead with their roster as it is currently constructed and keep on finding ways to win like they did before the bye week. Through the first eight games this year, it was not uncommon to see Pittsburgh's signal-caller make checks at the line of scrimmage. Oftentimes, those checks led to fade routes in the end zone that did not work. The strength of the offense so far has been the running game, especially Jaylen Warren, who has rushed for over 700 yards to start the season.

At times this season, McCarthy and his quarterback have appeared to butt heads during games. This was especially magnified following the Week 4 road loss to the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns. Dulac has covered the team for a long time, so his answer carries weight. It suggests Rodgers could be affecting the calls at the line of scrimmage by making his own reads rather than sticking with the original play call from his coach.

Steelers Must Fix Internal Issues On Offense For Successful Stretch Run

The Steelers have a great chance to capitalize on the work they did ahead of their bye week in the 2026 season. A win Sunday night over the Cincinnati Bengals would put them in the driver's seat in the AFC North division. However, they have to fix any internal issues on offense, like the one Dulac was asked about, since they decided to stand pat instead of adding help to their wide receiver room. The offense has done a great job making sure they produce enough to back up some great defensive performances so far, but the competition is going to pick up.

Help could still come from within. McCarthy said on Monday that Pittman is "getting close" to returning from injured reserve, which would give Rodgers another reliable target. The timing matters, too. Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 30-27 in Week 3, but the Bengals have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL, so a split on Sunday night could hand them the inside track in the division.

Rodgers is a great signal-caller for many different reasons, one of those being his ability to read defenses at the line of scrimmage. However, he has to put that aside for the betterment of the team moving forward. This is especially true if they find themselves in the red zone and their passing game is struggling like they have done so far through eight games. Feeding the ball to Warren and grinding out games can win in November and December, but the quarterback and his coach have to be on the same page.

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