Coaches may not sleep much by design, but Mike McCarthy has a few issues staring back at him as the Steelers get ready for Atlanta.
The biggest one is in the secondary, where the talent looks better than it did a year ago but the chemistry still has to catch up. Joey Porter, Jr’s contract issues kept him out of team activities, Jalen Ramsey only recently came off the PUP list, and neither of them was available for real preseason game action.
Jaquan Brisker also wasn’t around in those games, while DeShon Elliott played in week two before landing on Injured Reserve designated to return. That opened the door for other players to get reps, but it also means the key pieces have barely worked together.
Patrick Graham’s new defense was supposed to quiet the old communication problems on the back end, and now the Steelers have eight days to get everybody on the same page.
The offensive line brings a different kind of concern. On the surface, there’s some stability there.
If Dylan Cook starts, then four of the five linemen who finished 2025 will be back in the lineup. Still, only Zach Frazier is playing the same spot.
Troy Fautanu and Mason McCormick have shifted from right to left, Cook has spent most of his preseason on the right, and Spencer Anderson steps in at right guard as the lone new face. The trickiest part is right tackle.
If Cook is the starter when Atlanta arrives next week, the Steelers are left without a swing tackle. Cook can handle either side, but rookie Max Iheanachor is only a right tackle.
If Fautanu goes down, Cook would have to move over to the left. That’s not as simple as it sounds, and it’s why there’s been talk that Iheanachor could start week one.
Either way, this group has to keep a 42-year old quarterback clean and help jump-start the run game.
Then there’s the issue nobody can avoid once the games count: rust. McCarthy kept plenty of big names out of preseason action, including Aaron Rodgers, D.K.
Metcalf, Michael Pittman, Jr, T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward.
Rodgers and his receivers have reportedly gotten in plenty of work together, but that only matters if it shows up when the lights come on. Fans aren’t going to want to hear about timing or rust if the offense starts slowly.
McCarthy made the call to keep those players on the sideline, and most veterans would prefer it that way anyway. But if the opener goes sideways, excuses won’t carry much weight.
Rodgers threw four touchdown passes in last year’s opener, and the Steelers will be hoping for something just like that again.
McCarthy has been around long enough to know these concerns can look very different once the games begin. Winning makes everything feel manageable.
Losing puts every issue under a microscope. In a little over a week, the Steelers will find out where they really stand.
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