The Steelers walked out of Sunday with a 20-13 win, but the offense didn’t exactly leave anybody feeling settled. Strip away T.J. Watt’s spectacular defensive play, and Pittsburgh’s offense was stuck on 13 points against an Atlanta Falcons defense that was missing its top two pass rushers.
That’s the part that had Mike McCarthy sounding less than thrilled on Monday. The head coach didn’t sugarcoat it, saying the Steelers’ defense “carried the water,” and he also made clear he wanted more from the offense. McCarthy even described his own play calling as “herky jerky.”
Still, there was enough in the performance to suggest this group has room to move in the right direction over the next 16 games. The biggest reason is Aaron Rodgers, who looked far more aggressive than he often did during the 2025 season, when he too often slipped back into a dink-and-dunk rhythm.
Against Atlanta, Rodgers played like a quarterback willing to hunt for bigger plays. He extended drives with his legs and kept looking deep, piling up several “wow” throws even as his receivers let some chances slip away. There were drops, a few contested catches that weren’t finished, and even a couple of reps where interference got in the way.
Next Gen Stats backed up what the eye test showed. Rodgers posted Steelers career highs or near-highs in time to throw and air yards per target, and his passing chart showed he was working all over the field.
If that version of Rodgers sticks, the passing game should look a lot cleaner. It was a rough opener for DK Metcalf, and Germie Bernard still isn’t getting rotated in with the starters.
But there are signs of a wider support system forming, with Michael Pittman Jr. added to the mix and Pat Freiermuth and Roman Wilson seeing more involvement. That already makes the group look stronger than it did a year ago.
The offensive line’s right side was the shakier part, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. Rookie first-rounder Max Iheanachor could be on the verge of cracking the starting lineup, though.
And the run game? It was wildly uneven, just as the numbers said it had been through Week 1, when it carried a league-worst 28.6% success rate.
Even so, Pittsburgh found enough late, including three eight-plus-yard runs in the fourth quarter, to help close it out.
There’s also a big asterisk on all of this. Atlanta wasn’t expected to be a defensive juggernaut this season, and the Falcons were also without James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker. So while Pittsburgh’s opener offered a few reasons to believe the offense can take a step, it’s just as fair to remember that tougher defenses are coming.
In Other News...
Steelers New Look Still Leaves One Big Problem To Solve
The Steelers came out of their latest game looking different on both sides of the ball, and not just in the usual early-season, we-need-to-see-more way. Aaron Rodgers was more willing to test defenses downfield, while the front seven kept rotating T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith in ways that suggested a more flexible pass-rush approach than in years past. Pittsburgh also mixed in plenty of two-tight-end looks, and the snap counts for Germie Bernard and Roman Wilson offered another small reminder that this offense is still sorting out who fits where.
Even with the changes, the game still kept circling back to the same old frustration: missed chances. Drops and inaccurate throws broke up drives that had enough going for them to matter, which is why the new look feels promising without yet feeling complete. The Steelers have shown they can create different answers schematically, but until the passing game cleans up the finishing work, the biggest question on the roster is still waiting for a real solution. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Fans Suddenly Have Real Reason To Worry About Joey Porter Jr
For a Steelers team that has tried to build its identity around young, physical defense, Joey Porter Jr. suddenly finding his name in trade chatter is the kind of development that lands hard. NFL Networks Ian Rapoport pointed to the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions as possible destinations for the cornerback, with Pittsburgh still working through a contract dispute that has added another layer of uncertainty around one of its most important young defenders.
The Lions have reportedly shown interest, while the Chiefs are searching for help at cornerback after injuries and trades thinned that room. Any move would still have to clear a complicated path, though, with Porters contract demands and Kansas Citys salary cap situation making a deal far from simple. For now, it is less about where Porter might go than the fact that the Steelers have reached the point where such a conversation is even happening. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Week 1 Usage Raised Some Early Lineup Questions
Week 1 gave the Steelers an early look at how this defense and offense may be leaning under their current personnel mix, and the snap counts were hard to miss. T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward were on the field less than fans have grown used to seeing, while Jalen Ramsey and Payton Wilson barely came off it. On offense, rookie Germie Bernard had a limited role, but Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington were both featured heavily as Pittsburgh worked through its first game plan of the season.
The usage patterns do not settle many questions so much as they open them up. Reduced workloads for Watt and Heyward can be explained plenty of ways in a season opener, but they still stand out when paired with the near every-snap roles for Ramsey and Wilson and the tight end-heavy approach on offense. For a team trying to sort out its weekly identity early, the first-round of snap counts offered a clearer view of who the Steelers trust right away and a few more spots where the rotation still feels unsettled. [Read more 🡒]