With a disappointing 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL opener last Wednesday, the New England Patriots got their 2026 season off on the wrong foot. The goal now is to avoid an 0-2 start against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that started its own season with a victory.
What can be expected from the Steelers, though? Let’s take a closer look at them ahead of Sunday’s matchup.
Steelers key stats
The Steelers opened the 2026 season with a victory but in a competitive AFC North are currently still only ranked third.
Obviously, a lot will change over the coming weeks both with this and other rankings.
Record: 1-0 (3rd AFC North/8th AFC)
Scoring differential: +7 (11th)
Turnover differential: +1 (t-8th)
Offense: 20.0 points/game (t-22nd), 264.0 yards/game (25th), 1 giveaway (t-8th), -0.251 EPA/play (30th), -0.251 EPA/dropback (27th), -0.252 EPA/run (27th)
Defense: 13.0 points/game (t-6th), 238.0 yards/game (3rd), 2 takeaways (t-5th), -0.358 EPA/play (2nd),
-0.638 EPA/dropback (1st), -0.113 EPA/run (13th)
What the Steelers’ season opener against the Falcons shows us, though, is that the defense was ready to play. The unit dominated an Atlanta team starting its third-string quarterback and scored the decisive points when T.J. Watt returned an interception 35 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown. Pittsburgh’s own offense, on the other hand, had a rough go itself despite ultimately doing enough to secure a W.
Steelers 2026 season
Even though it was not a particular display of power, the Steelers opened their first season under head coach Mike McCarthy with a win. However, it remains to be seen just how representative that performance against the Falcons actually was.
Week 1: 20-13 win vs. Atlanta Falcons (1-0)
The Patriots, despite their own issues in Week 1, project to be a much tougher opponent for Pittsburgh.
Steelers active roster
Roster up-to-date as of Sept. 16, 8 a.m. ET | *denotes nominal starter
Quarterback (4): Aaron Rodgers (8), Mason Rudolph (2), Will Howard (18), Drew Allar (16)
Running back (3): Jaylen Warren (30), Rico Dowdle (13), Eli Heidenreich (29 | KR)
Fullback (1): Riley Nowakowski (37)
Wide receiver (6): DK Metcalf (4), Michael Pittman Jr. (11), Roman Wilson (14), Germie Bernard (17), Ben Skowronek (15), Kaden Wetjen (10 | PR)
Tight end (3): Pat Freiermuth (88), Darnell Washington (80), Robert Tonyan (85)
Offensive tackle (3): Troy Fautanu (76 | LT), Dylan Cook (60 | RT), Max Iheanachor (71)
Interior offensive line (6): Mason McCormick (66 | LG), Zach Frazier (544 | C), Spencer Anderson (74 | RG), Ryan McCollum (62), Brock Hoffman (67), Gennings Dunker (73)
Interior defensive line (7): Keeanu Benton* (95), Cameron Heyward* (97), Derrick Harmon (99), Yahya Black (94), Sebastian Joseph-Day (69), Gabriel Rubio (96), Kevin Jobity Jr. (92)
Defensive edge (4): T.J. Watt* (90), Alex Highsmith* (56), Nick Herbig* (51), Jack Sawyer (33)
Linebacker (4): Patrick Queen* (6), Payton Wilson* (41), Cole Holcomb (55), Carson Bruener (44)
Cornerback (5): Joey Porter Jr. (24), Jamel Dean* (35), Asante Samuel Jr.* (22), Daylen Everette (23), Brandin Echols (26)
Safety (4): Jalen Ramsey* (5), Jaquan Brisker* (3), Rayshawn Jenkins (20), Robert Spears-Jennings (28)
Specialists (3): Chris Boswell (9 | K), Cameron Johnston (19 | P/H), Christian Kuntz (46 | LS)
If the game against Atlanta is any indication, the Steelers offense once again revolves around Aaron Rodgers. The future Hall of Famer dropped back to pass 42 times in the season opener and went 40-for-24 with 221 yards, a touchdown and two sacks. He did distribute the ball well, but his 5.5 yards per attempt shows that he found most of his success in the short and intermediate areas; he went 0-for-6 on passes of more than 20 yards.
This, in turn, was bad news for No. 1 wide receiver DK Metcalf. Averaging a depth of target of 19.0 yards, he caught only four of nine targets for 40 total yards. The success might have been inconsistent, but the target share itself shows that Metcalf remains Rodgers’ favorite target — a group that also includes Roman Wilson, tight end Pat Freiermuth and running back Jaylen Warren. The three were targets 17 times between them.
Overall, Pittsburgh’s passing game had its ups and downs last week —something that was also true for the rushing attack. The Steelers offense was okay but not particularly impressive either, even though it did enough to secure a win against a struggling Falcons team.
The Patrick Graham-led defense, on the other hand, performed at a high level. The standout performer was, once again, the aforementioned T.J. Watt. Not only did he register the aforementioned pick-six, he also had a pair of sacks and an additional tackle for loss. Fellow edge A.J. Highsmith notched two sacks as well, while Nick Herbig had a pair of quarterback pressures without taking down Atlanta QB Cooper Rush.
The team’s secondary held up well, even without Joey Porter Jr: the fourth-year cornerback sat out the season opener, officially due to a back injury. However, his ongoing contract dispute with the Steelers and the trade rumors surrounding him are impossible to be ignored either. His status will be one of the big stories to watch over the coming days leading up to the game.
In Porter’s place, Asante Samuel Jr. got the start at outside cornerback. With Pittsburgh playing predominately zone defense versus Atlanta, he and the rest of the starting secondary — a group typically also including Jamel Dean, Jalen Ramsey and Jaquan Brisker — limited the Falcons to 143 passing yards; Brisker also caught an interception.
In the kicking game, the Steelers showed some weakness: Atlanta averaged 11.0 yards on its three punt returns, and 30.8 yards on four kickoff runbacks. Kicker Chris Boswell also went just 2-of-3 on his field goal tries, even though his miss came from 56 yards out.
Steelers reserves
Practice squad (17): RB Travis Homer (21), RB Lew Nichols III (31), WR Max Hurleman (84), WR Brandon Johnson (89), WR Brandon Smith (89), TE Lake McRee (81), OL Steven Jones (79), OL Doug Nester (72), DT Kyler Baugh (65), DT Esezi Otomewo (93), ED Bradyn Swinson (57), LB Julius Welschof (45 | exempt), LB Jacoby Windmon (53), CB Sebastian Castro (49), CB Doneiko Slaughter (40), CB Car’lin Vigers (42), S Bishop Fitzgerald (38)
IR (3): OT Jack Driscoll (68), DT Logan Lee (91), S DeShon Elliott (25)
PUP (1): CB Donte Kent (34)
The Steelers’ reserve lists features a familiar name: ex-Patriots fifth-round draft pick Bradyn Swinson joined the club’s practice squad after getting cut by the Patriots. Also worth pointing out here is nominal starting safety DeShon Elliott, who is starting the year on injured reserve because of a hamstring issue.
Steelers coaching staff
Head coach: Mike McCarthy
Coordinators: Brian Angelichio (OC), Patrick Graham (DC), Danny Crossman (ST)
After 19 seasons with the Steelers, former head coach Mike Tomlin announced his resignation in January. Eleven days later, Mike McCarthy was announced as his successor — reuniting him with his former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The change up top also led to a major shakeup further down the ranks.
Brian Angelichio, Patrick Graham and Danny Crossman were all hired as coordinators, replacing Arthur Smith, Teryl Austin and Danny Smith, respectively. Also part of the group is Robert Kugler, the former Patriots assistant offensive line coach who was hired by McCarthy as Pittsburgh’s new tight ends coach this offseason.
