The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line decisions continue to be puzzling. Like a simplified 24-piece puzzle that’s scrambled into 1,000. They just can’t get it right.
42-year-old Aaron Rodgers was constantly under pressure when the Steelers lost 20-3 to the New England Patriots. Better defenses await in the following weeks. The problems didn’t begin when the first snap hit Rodgers’ hands against the Falcons two weeks ago, but date back to the first day Mike McCarthy was hired.
McCarthy and Omar Khan’s
plan for the offensive line didn’t make sense from the start. Pittsburgh decided to move starting right guard Mason McCormick and right tackle Troy Fautanu to the left side of the line at the start of offseason workouts. What seemed like a confusing move has resulted in someone falling asleep on their keyboard, pressing the “Q” button with the number of questions that ensued. Why? Was it necessary? Did it make sense?
In theory, the decision made sense… on paper. Fautanu played left tackle at Washington, and McCormick played left guard at South Dakota State. You’d think a former first-round pick in Fautanu would adapt back to the position he’s comfortable with, but this isn’t Kansas anymore, Toto.
Life in the NFL at the tackle spots is different from college, ask Broderick Jones. How’d that one turn out? Dan Moore was seemingly incapable of playing the right side and forced Jones to a position he wasn’t comfortable with. Has the new staff made better choices with the line than Mike Tomlin’s? It seems like the decisions are coming from inside the front office – hello, Khan and Andy Weidl. Keeping the cohesion with Fautanu and McCormick made sense, but if it’s not broken, why try to fix it?
The Steelers had a stable right side of the offensive line intact for years to come, but made a non-problem a glaring weakness. Former seventh-round pick and swing tackle Spencer Anderson has been tasked with holding down the fort at right guard. The fort was ransacked and overtaken by the Patriots on Sunday. Anderson allowed seven pressures against New England in Foxboro, the most of any right guard in football last week. The Patriots sacked Rodgers four times and forced two fumbles, one resulting in a scoop-and-score. He’s been sacked six times and pressured on 29 drop-backs through two games.
Right tackle Dylan Cook did a decent job replacing Jones last season on the left side and became the leader in the clubhouse to start at right. He’s allowed more defenders to easily move past him than a PNC Park turnstile on bobblehead night.
It’s not just the 29th-ranked passing game (175 yards per game) that’s struggled. The Steelers are only averaging 74.5 yards per game on the ground, also 29th in the league, and are 30th in total yards. Mike McCarthy’s offense has scored 16 points through his first two games. Matt Canada’s unit scored 33. Arthur Smith’s offense scored 31. Not a good look for the Steelers’ first offensive head coach in over 50 years.
Center Zach Frazier is the only holdover from the 2025 offensive line. First-round pick Max Iheanachor dealt with an injury in training camp that hampered his development, but it’s beyond time we see what the rookie out of Arizona State has to offer the team. The Steelers placed themselves in a difficult position by picking Iheanachor and only committing him to the right side, partly resulting in the shift in dynamics. Wouldn’t it have been easier to change one thing (Iheanachor at left) than two?
The lack of cohesion during camp was startling and is likely playing a factor for offensive line coach James Campen. Pittsburgh rotated Anderson and Brock Hoffman at right guard, plus Cook, Jones, and Iheanachor at right tackle before training Jones at the end of preseason. If you want everyone on the same page, why not keep them together for every rep and workout?
The game of musical chairs continued with the Steelers rotating Anderson and Cook between the left and right sides during the media viewing window of practice on Wednesday. Hoffman and Iheanachor both worked exclusively on the right. They are trying to clean up their own mess and fix gaps in pre-snap communication deeper than Pittsburgh potholes in December.
Time is ticking on how long Rodgers can hold up and prevent getting hurt behind this unit after taking nasty hits against the Patriots. Can it possibly get worse? I’m afraid to even ask.
