The Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off their 2026 season with an impressively lopsided 28-9 victory over the Green Bay Packers just a few days ago. That scoreline looks great on paper, and Mike McCarthy and his staff certainly introduced themselves in an impressive fashion. But let’s be real: neither team featured its star players, and the playcalling wasn’t anything close to what we’ll see when the games start to count. We gotta talk about the real ugly truth that jumped off the screen.
Pittsburgh’s O-Line Is a Mess, And That’s Being Generous
We can talk about the positives later, but first, let’s hit the cold, hard facts: the Steelers offensive line got off to a brutal start. They allowed 10 pressures and 3 sacks in pass protection! Ten pressures! Four of those were on the starting lineup alone: Troy Fautanu got tagged for two, Mason McCormick one, and Dylan Cook another. Running back Travis Homer, who started with Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle sidelined, even gave up a fifth pressure. If that wasn’t enough, the rushing attack managed a measly 2.7 yards per carry. Fautanu capped off his rough outing with both a false start and an offensive holding call. This was not a pristine showing, not by a long shot.
Now, I hear the excuses. Ten pressures might sound worse than it was because a couple of plays saw multiple pressures, so it wasn’t 10 *separate* plays, just a few truly awful snaps. Plus, Fautanu, McCormick, and Cook all flipped sides from where they played in 2025, so maybe some bumps were expected. And, yeah, it’s the first preseason game. This is where you iron out mental mistakes and get physically ready. But honestly, if these issues linger into the first month of the season, Pittsburgh is in deep trouble. Better to make mistakes now, but they better adjust, and fast.
A Win Is a Win, But Don’t Get it Twisted
Yeah, they won 28-9. That’s a huge margin. It’s great for Mike McCarthy’s staff to start with a “win” like that, even if it’s preseason. But that offensive line performance? That’s the real story here. The three sacks Pittsburgh allowed in the game were just a collection of small, correctable losses, but they add up to a unit that looked completely out of sync at times. You can’t just brush that aside.
The Steelers absolutely cannot be satisfied with what the offensive line put out there. These are the growing pains you hope to shake off before the regular season even kicks into gear. They need to clean up those pressures, get the run game moving, and eliminate the mental errors if they want to build on that lopsided score. What matters now is how they adjust. Pittsburgh needs to get this fixed before the games really start to matter.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Behind the Steel Curtain.
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