FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The hit came out of nowhere -- a blindside blow from New England Patriots linebacker Christian Ellis that crushed Aaron Rodgers and sent the ball tumbling across the turf. Several Pittsburgh Steelers muffed the pinballing football before it was finally recovered 36 yards back.
The result: An almost comical fourth-and-43. If there's one image to sum up the Steelers offense during Sunday's 20-3 loss, this was it.
"The offense needs to be better," coach Mike McCarthy said bluntly. "Mike McCarthy needs to be better."
A pair of Steelers three-and-outs to start the game set the tone for what was to follow. Rodgers' two fumbles -- one that took the offense out of field goal range and another that was returned for a touchdown -- led to a 10-point swing. A 2-for-12 showing on third down illuminated ongoing possession-down problems. And when rookie receiver Germie Bernard bobbled a pass that gifted the Patriots an interception, even the one bright spot felt dull.
The Patriots' two-pronged defensive approach sucked the air out of the Pittsburgh offense, as pressure from an aggressive, blitzing front and tight man coverage in the secondary worked in harmony. New England created four sacks and a dozen QB pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Rodgers completed 23 of his 39 passes (59 percent) for 187 yards and a quarterback rating of 60.5.
"Starts with me," McCarthy said. "I'm calling the offense. We got to … I have to get the detail better. So if you need someone (to point the finger at), fire away."
Miscommunications, missed assignments and poor execution were all to blame -- sometimes all on the same play. When Rodgers got smoked by Ellis, the Patriots sent one of their many six-man pressures. A miscommunication on the left side caused left tackle Troy Fautanu and left guard Mason McCormick to block the same player and leave Ellis untouched. On the front side, running back Rico Dowdle missed his assignment, allowing another defender to run free.
Early in the fourth quarter, right guard Spencer Anderson got pushed into the backfield by Patriots lineman Christian Barmore. He punched the ball out of Rodgers' hand, and Elijah Ponder scooped it up and returned it 19 yards for a score. Even Zach Frazier, the most solid member of this group, had a rough rep or two. He was driven into the backfield on a play where the Steelers were trying to sneak DK Metcalf across the formation, leading to the receiver bumping into the center.
"We've got to give Aaron better platforms to throw off of," McCarthy said. "I don't want to dink and dunk all day and play keep-away football. There's a place for that, maybe situationally, but that's not the philosophy."
Even when they didn't get home, the Patriots often forced the ball out of Rodgers' hand quickly. He averaged just 4.4 air yards per attempt and released the ball in an average of 2.73 seconds after the snap. Of his 39 attempts, 21 were thrown in under 2.5 seconds.
To win this way, the Steelers receivers need to create early separation. It rarely happened on Sunday. Christian Gonzalez shadowed Metcalf extensively. The Steelers tried to free up their WR1 by moving him into the slot, but Gonzalez followed. The NFL's highest-paid corner largely shut down Metcalf. Even on two of the rare occasions Metcalf created separation, he dropped passes. Until garbage time, Metcalf had as many drops (two) as receiving yards. He finished with four receptions (on nine targets) for 27 yards.
"Not worried about it," Rodgers said. "We're going to get it sorted out. We've been on the same page since I came back. I'll talk with DK like I always do, and we'll be fine."
Will they? It's only Week 2, but the shortcomings on offense are becoming a surprising trend, given the way Rodgers and the offense looked in camp. Protection breakdowns. Possession down failures. Metcalf's miscues. The troubling part is that the areas the Steelers thought they had addressed are responsible for their most significant shortcomings.
Pittsburgh pivoted from its model of young, defensive-minded head coaches because of McCarthy's offensive reputation and experience working with quarterbacks. He has overseen offenses that finished in the top 10 in scoring 12 times, including eight top-five finishes. However, this group has produced just one touchdown -- the same number as the defense has created.
The Steelers spent years investing in the offensive line, with three first-round tackles, a second-round center and a pair of third-round guards in GM Omar Khan's first four drafts. The Steelers have already declared one of those players, Broderick Jones, a bust by trading him to Dallas and continue to reshuffle the pieces without real signs of progress.
And as much as anything, Metcalf is greatly underperforming. The Steelers paid twice for Metcalf -- once in the form of a second-round pick and then with a massive four-year, $132 million extension that makes him the seventh-highest paid player at his position. They also reportedly guaranteed Metcalf $60 million at signing, breaking their mold and doing what they are apparently unwilling to do for Joey Porter Jr. Meanwhile, Metcalf ended 2025 sidelined for the two most important games of the season following his altercation with a fan in Detroit. He has started the 2026 season with only eight receptions on 19 targets and numerous drops. For any offense to thrive, it needs a functional WR1. Especially with Michael Pittman Jr. out due to injury, Metcalf's repeated missteps are causing the offense to sputter.
Now, if the Steelers are going to turn things around, changes will need to be considered on multiple levels. McCarthy highlighted one area in his postgame news conference: He plans to pare down the game plan with the goal of executing the staple plays more consistently.
"If it's not clean, you cut the volume down," McCarthy said. "We're not clean on offense, so the volume's getting cut down. … We've got a quarterback that could play with any volume of game plan, but at the end of the day, it's a team game."
Personnel changes could also be on the table. If the Steelers aren't getting high-level play from right tackle Dylan Cook, why not pivot to first-round pick Max Iheanachor? The staff also has to evaluate options at right guard, with Brock Hoffman the likely next option. Asked about these possibilities, McCarthy didn't rule them out.
"The buzzwords are coming in here and saying everything's correctable, (that) we can fix everything. That's a matter of fact. It's true," McCarthy said. "But if you're making the same mistakes … that's what we have to address."
Establishing a running game could also help the protection and set up more opportunities for explosive plays. That's easier said than done. The Steelers utilized many heavy personnel groupings with extra tight ends and were more committed to the run early against the Patriots than in last week's 18-attempt outing. Results didn't follow. Their top two backs, Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle, averaged 3.9 and 3.1 yards per carry, respectively.
McCarthy shouldered much of the blame. However, Rodgers said the best teams are player-led and put the onus back on the guys in shoulder pads.
"I think we've got to take ownership as players," Rodgers said. "We've got to be accountable to each other about our performance. Mine wasn't good enough, and for a lot of guys on offense, it wasn't good enough. We've got to start with ourselves, not point the finger, and not ride the roller coaster.
"You're not going to see me panic. I don't think Mike's going to panic. Urgency is going to go up a little bit, for sure, but no panic."
We'll see if that urgency leads to more than one touchdown in two games.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
