The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t just lose to the New England Patriots on Sunday. They got dragged through a 20-3 beating that looked bad from the opening snaps and never got any better.
After a rough Week 1 showing against the Falcons, there was at least some room to explain away a few of Pittsburgh’s offensive issues. Not this time. Against New England, the Steelers looked overmatched, disjointed and stuck in place while the Patriots controlled the game.
The defense did what it could to keep things from getting completely out of hand. There were flashes, a couple of turnovers and enough disruption to hint that the unit is still capable of carrying weight. But the offense gave that effort almost nothing to work with.
For a team that was supposed to have a much more functional attack, the Steelers somehow looked even worse than they did a week ago. They put up just three points and 235 total yards, well short of the 13 points and 264 yards that felt underwhelming against Atlanta.
Aaron Rodgers was part of the problem, but he wasn’t the whole story. DK Metcalf was erased by Christian Gonzalez, the receivers struggled across the board, and only Germie Bernard gave the passing game any real life for a stretch. The run game was slightly better than it had been in Week 1, but not nearly enough to steady the offense.
The offensive line, though, may be the biggest concern of all. This was supposed to be the group that helped make the offense go in 2026, and instead it has become one of the team’s biggest liabilities.
The Steelers had trouble in pass protection, trouble handling stunts, trouble dealing with free rushers, and trouble creating anything on the ground. Spencer Anderson had a rough day in particular, giving up multiple quick pressures, including the one that turned into a scoop-and-score for Patriots edge rusher Elijah Ponder.
That kind of breakdown has already pushed the conversation toward changes. Brock Hoffman at right guard and first-round rookie Max Iheanachor over Dylan Cook are both possibilities if Pittsburgh decides to shuffle things up.
Metcalf’s night was ugly enough to raise even bigger questions. The Steelers gave up a second-round pick to trade for him and then handed him a four-year, $132 million contract, and so far that move is looking worse by the week.
Against New England, he finished with just 27 yards on four catches. Gonzalez had him bottled up from start to finish, but Metcalf also dropped multiple passes that were right there for the taking and never consistently separated.
At this point, it looks fair to wonder whether the Steelers need to start steering targets elsewhere.
There was at least some encouragement on defense. T.J.
Watt wasn’t quite as overwhelming as he was in Week 1, but Pittsburgh still managed three sacks and forced two turnovers. Patrick Queen picked off his first pass as a Steeler, and Nick Herbig forced a fumble on Rhamondre Stephenson early in the game.
The unit also gave up too many chunk plays, including TreVeyon Henderson’s 39-yard touchdown run and a wide-open touchdown to Romeo Doubs, but it kept fighting.
Rodgers, meanwhile, looked far more like the version Pittsburgh was hoping to avoid. One of the few positives from Week 1 was his willingness to hold the ball and attack downfield, which showed up in his 10.1 average depth of target.
That disappeared against the Patriots. He finished with 187 yards on 39 attempts, and his 5.1 ADOT, according to Pro Football Focus($), reflected just how little the offense threatened New England vertically.
The one player who should absolutely stay involved is Bernard. The second-round rookie made the most of his first real offensive opportunity, catching four passes for 35 yards on eight targets.
Those 35 yards led the Steelers, which says plenty about the day Pittsburgh had. Bernard also had a rough drop late that turned into an interception, but that’s the kind of mistake that can be forgiven for a rookie in his second game.
Even when Michael Pittman Jr. returns healthy, Bernard has earned more chances in the passing game.
In Other News...
Aaron Rodgers Just Created Another Steelers Distraction Off The Field
Aaron Rodgers spent part of a recent podcast revisiting the end of his broken engagement to Shailene Woodley, and the discussion quickly spilled into the kind of off-field conversation that can follow a quarterback anywhere. Rodgers said Woodley asked for permission to be with another man shortly after his proposal, a revelation that immediately pushed the story beyond a private breakup and into the public debate that tends to follow high-profile athletes.
Joy Taylor then took Rodgers to task on her show for choosing to air those details, and the reaction online split just as quickly as the topic itself. Woodley has mostly stayed silent, while Rodgers keeps his attention on football, but the episode still added another layer of noise around a player whose every word tends to travel well beyond the field. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Run Game Concern Just Got Even More Serious
Pittsburghs run game was already under a bright light after a sluggish start through the first two weeks, and Sunday only added to the concern. Late in the first half against the New England Patriots, running back Rico Dowdle exited after suffering a toe injury on a sack-fumble play, leaving the Steelers to sort through another setback in a ground attack that has not provided much help.
Dowdle was listed as questionable to return, and if he cannot, Jaylen Warren is the next man up to handle most of the carries. For a Steelers offense still looking for consistency on the ground, losing another back in the middle of a game only sharpens the focus on how quickly the rushing plan can stabilize. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Drive Turned Into A Bizarre Mess Fans Need To See
The second quarter of the Steelers Week 2 matchup in New England delivered one of those drives that seemed to unravel in real time. On a third-and-seven play, Christian Elliss forced the ball loose, and the fumble took on a life of its own as it bounced behind the line of scrimmage and set off a scramble involving multiple players before Troy Fautanu finally came away with it.
Even after the recovery, Pittsburgh was left staring at a 4th-and-43, a rare and ugly spot that summed up how badly the possession had gone off the rails. For a team trying to settle into the game and protect its rhythm, the sequence was the kind of chaos that fans replay because it is hard to believe on first watch. [Read more 🡒]