The Steelers walked out of Week 1 with a win, but not the kind that changes the conversation. A 20-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons gave Mike McCarthy his first triumph as the leader of his hometown franchise, yet it did little to shake Pittsburgh out of underdog territory heading into Sunday’s matchup with the New England Patriots.
ESPN lists the Patriots as 5.5-point favorites, and that number says plenty about how the league sees this game. Pittsburgh is on the road, yes, but the line is still a little surprising given what New England just put on tape.
Drake Maye’s opener was rough from start to finish. In a 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the former first-round pick threw three interceptions and struggled with both timing and decision-making.
New England’s offense is also dealing with some real holes. A.J.
Brown left that game early with a right ankle injury and has been placed on injured reserve, which rules him out for Sunday. Romeo Doubs is set to step into the lead role among the targets, but his Week 1 outing didn’t exactly announce a breakout.
He was targeted three times and didn’t catch a pass. Carlton Davis, the boundary corner opposite Christian Gonzalez, is also out.
That sets up a good opportunity for Patrick Graham’s defense. Josh McDaniels will be working with a short-handed offense, and Pittsburgh should have every chance to make life miserable for Maye. Expect pressure in the pocket, simulated blitz looks, and a steady effort to force the young quarterback into uncomfortable throws.
Still, the Steelers can’t count on the defense to carry everything.
Last week, the secondary held up well against a third-string quarterback, and it did it without Joey Porter Jr. on the field. That was a strong start. But if Pittsburgh wants to keep stacking wins, it needs more than another solid defensive showing.
T.J. Watt bailed them out in a major way last Sunday, returning an interception for six points.
That kind of swing play can change a game in a hurry, but it’s not something a team can live on every week. The offense has to do its part, and the numbers from Week 1 weren’t nearly good enough.
Pittsburgh managed only 58 rushing yards and went 3-of-13 on third down.
Aaron Rodgers did look sharp in the opener. He moved well, looked comfortable, and seemed genuinely energized to be back on the field.
Even so, his 40 pass attempts produced just one offensive touchdown. That’s not enough if Pittsburgh wants to beat a team on the road, even one that’s struggling.
Rodgers eventually found Pat Freiermuth for a six-yard touchdown, but the Steelers still left chances on the table. A more balanced attack would help a lot, especially if Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle can give the ground game enough life to keep defenders like Christian Gonzalez honest.
The bigger point is simple: Pittsburgh has to turn possessions into touchdowns. The defense has already shown it can make plays.
But if the Steelers want to avoid leaning on another escape act, the offense has to match that standard in Week 2. Against a Patriots team missing its best receiver and coming off a three-interception outing from Maye, anything less would be a missed chance.
In Other News...
Aaron Rodgers Just Created Another Steelers Distraction Off The Field
Aaron Rodgers has managed to keep the Steelers talking for reasons that have little to do with football after opening up on a podcast about the end of his broken engagement to Shailene Woodley. The conversation turned personal in a hurry when Rodgers described a painful detail from that relationship, and the topic quickly spilled into the sports media conversation as another reminder of how much attention follows him everywhere he goes.
Joy Taylor later called out Rodgers for choosing to share those details publicly, adding another layer to a story that has already drawn a mixed reaction online. Woodley has stayed mostly quiet, while Rodgers keeps moving ahead with his football life, but the off-field noise is the kind of thing Pittsburgh would rather not have hanging around as the season builds. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Drive Turned Into A Bizarre Mess Fans Need To See
A second-quarter Steelers drive in Week 2 against the Patriots took a strange turn on a third-and-7 snap when Christian Elliss forced the ball loose and sent it bouncing back behind the line of scrimmage. What followed was the kind of scramble that made the play feel longer than the drive itself, with several players converging on the loose ball before Troy Fautanu finally came away with it.
Pittsburgh still had to sort out the damage from the mess, and the result was a brutal 4th-and-43. For an offense trying to stay on schedule, it was the sort of sequence that can turn a promising series into a rescue mission in a hurry, and the kind of breakdown Steelers fans will want to watch again just to make sense of how it unraveled. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Run Game Concern Just Got Even More Serious
The Steelers backfield had already been under pressure after two quiet weeks on the ground, and Sunday against New England added another layer of concern. Rico Dowdle left late in the first half with a toe injury on a sack-fumble play, a setback that immediately put even more attention on a run game that has not found much rhythm early in the season.
Dowdle was listed as questionable to return, and if he is unable to get back in, Jaylen Warren would be lined up for most of the carries. For a Pittsburgh offense that has been searching for steadier production on the ground, the health of its backs now matters even more than the modest gains it has managed to piece together so far. [Read more 🡒]