If you subtract a spectacular defensive play from T.J. Watt, the Steelers offense contributed a lackluster 13 points against an Atlanta Falcons defense down its top two pass rushers on Sunday.
The end result was still a 20-13 win, but during his Monday press conference, head coach Mike McCarthy was largely critical of the team’s offensive output. McCarthy said the Steelers’ defense “carried the water,” adding that he expected better from the offense and that his own play calling was “herky jerky.”
The good news? There are still 16 games left in the regular season, and the Steelers offense showed plenty to get excited about on Sunday.
A lot of that lies with the quarterback. After a 2025 season where Aaron Rodgers often looked too willing to revert to a dink-and-dunk passing game, he looked more like a gunslinger against the Falcons. He was extending plays. He was pushing the ball deep. He recorded several “wow” throws even if his core of pass-catchers recorded some drops, failed to complete several more contested grabs or were blatantly interfered with on a few reps.
According to Next Gen Stats, Rodgers set highs or near-highs for his Steelers career in time to throw and air yards per target on Sunday. His passing map also showed him accessing every area of the field.
If Rodgers can keep pace, the passing game woes should improve. It was an especially rough game from top receiver DK Metcalf against Atlanta, and second-rounder Germie Bernard still isn’t rotating in with the starters. But the addition of Michael Pittman Jr. and increased involvement from Pat Freiermuth and Roman Wilson have the Steelers’ group of pass catchers already looking much stronger compared to last year.
The right side of the Steelers’ offensive line was probably the weakest spot of the offense, as expected, but rookie first-round Max Iheanachor could be on track to enter the starting lineup soon. And while the Steelers’ run game was incredibly inconsistent against the Falcons on Sunday (a league-worst 28.6% success rate through Week 1), the team still managed three eight-plus-yard runs in the fourth quarter to finalize the win.
Of course, it bears repeating this was against a Falcons defense without especially high expectations this season — and down both James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker. While it’s easy to see the good aspects of Pittsburgh’s season-opening performance on offense and expect big strides forward, it’s also important to note opposing defenses will likely be better as well down the road.
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