Through two games, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been dreadful. One offensive touchdown in 25 possessions and coming off an embarrassing performance against the New England Patriots, there's no end in sight. How did we get here so quickly? Here are the four things head coach Mike McCarthy did wrong in the offseason to bring down the Steelers offense.
Focusing on 2027 and not 2026
All we heard about during training camp and the preseason were young quarterbacks Drew Allar and Will Howard. And we've maintained since that time that McCarthy was too focused on next season and wasn't fully invested in 2026. Knowing he is getting a grace year, it has been easy for him to look ahead at the expense of the current year.
Going soft in practice
No tackling, no joint practices and no way to prepare the
team for the physicality of the regular season. The Steelers offensive line and even the receivers are getting bullied on the field and it is clear they are not on par with their opponents from a physical standpoint.
Keeping the offense on the bench in preseason
The combination of Aaron Rodgers, Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. played a total of 19 snaps in preseason. All of those were running backs, by the way. The impact of this goes beyond just the team's best players being rusty. It also masked the issues on the offensive line, which could have been dismissed by poor play of reserves at the skill positions.
Failing to address offensive line
With the understanding that the best veterans on the team to start on the right side were Spencer Anderson and Dylan Cook, the Steelers still drafted for potential and not production with Max Iheanachor and Gennings Dunker, fail to add anyone of value in free agency and then traded away a starting offensive tackle in Broderick Jones.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: 4 big reasons the Steelers offense is in so much trouble through Week Two
