When the Steelers begin their 2026 preseason campaign at Acrisure Stadium tonight against the Packers, all eyes will be on the two extremes of the offense, with the focus on answering two questions:
- Who is “winning” the Will Howard–Drew Allar battle?
- Can either Roman Wilson or Germie Bernard emerge as a true number 3 wide receiver?
Mike McCarthy and his staff must gain clarity on both questions during preseason.
Finding out whether Howard and/or Allar has legit long-term potential as a starting quarterback is essential. And if the Steelers 2024 and 2025 seasons taught us anything, it is that a varsity offense requires varsity wide receivers.
Kennau Benton tackles Aaron Jones. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com
But if you really want to understand what will define the Steelers’ ability to not only reach but compete in the playoffs this year, you should keep your focus on the front and center.
- The “front” being the offensive line, and the “center” being the middle of the defense.
To understand why, let’s look back the Steelers playoff debacle against the Texans and then peer further back into the bowels of Pittsburgh’s famed 3-4 defense.
The Offensive Line’s Eyesore Performance vs. the Texans
Watching the Steelers-Texans game in the cold at outside of Hibernia Bar in Manhattan, my gut reaction was simple:
- This offensive line just isn’t ready.
The game reminded me of the 2014 playoff loss to the Ravens at Heinz Field. During the 2014 regular season Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin’s commitment to rebuilding the offensive line, after years of “plug and patch,” began to pay dividends.
That year, under Mike Munchak’s tutelage, the offensive line had transformed itself into an asset. But in the playoffs, the Ravens defense revealed that Pittsburgh’s offensive line still needed to mature more.
And so it was in 2025.
The Steelers line started the season a little shaky, and while they never dominated, they clearly improved as the year progressed. But in the playoffs they withered under the Texans’ pass rush, showing that more maturity was needed.
- With the unit returning four out of five starters everyone expects improvement. But there’s a “but.”
Of the four returning starters, only Zach Frazier will play in the same spot. Troy Fautanu and Mason McCormick will move to the left side, Dylan Cook will move to the right and Spencer Anderson, who played primarily on the left, also moves to the right.
Ryan McCollum and Aaron Rodgers. Photo Credit: Ed Thompson, SteelersNow
That may not be the opening-day lineup, particularly with Broderick Jones back in the mix, but the coaching staff has established a clear pecking order.
Mike McCarthy, Brian Angelichio and James Campen have enthusiastically moved around the pieces. While nothing about the performance against the Texans screamed, “This isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” moving so many players into new positions still carries a bit of risk.
- But it also carries potential upside.
My friend and Steel City Insider analyst Matt C. Steel has written extensively about the disservice that NFL coaches can do by moving offensive linemen away from their natural positions, pointing to neuroscience and citing Kevin Dotson as an example, who is playing much better at right guard in Los Angeles than he played on the left in Pittsburgh. (It should be noted that Alan Faneca switched sides in the pros, and his a Hall of Famer.)
But if reshuffling the offensive line deck is what allows the unit to take the next step forward, this decision will pay dividends both this season and beyond. Tonight against the Packers we’ll get our first taste of what’s to come.|
Steelers Piss-Poor Run Defense Hiding in Plain Sight
The ugly nature of the 30-6 home playoff loss to the Texans made it easy to forget an interesting factoid: the Steelers were still within one point early in the 4th quarter until Houston hustled the game away with two defensive scores.
The Steelers defense kept the team in the game while their offense didn’t look like it belonged on the field.
- But there’s an unpleasant surprise hiding in the stat sheet.
Yes, the Steelers defense earned their stripes, keeping Pittsburgh in the game with turnovers by Brandin Echols, T.J. Watt, and Yahya Black. Sacks by Derrick Harmon, Keeanu Benton and Jack Sawyer made C.J. Stroud look lost.
- But one player who found a groove was rookie Texas running back Woody Marks.
Marks ran for 112 yards – his previous best had been 69 yards. Nick Chubb added another 48 yards on 10 carries.
This is important, because Mike McCarthy made no bones about sticking with the 3-4 upon his return to Pittsburgh.
And to understand how alarming those run defense stats are, we need to go back to something former defensive coordinator Tim Lewis once told Jim Wexell: The strength of the Steelers 3-4 defense runs through its spine.
To visualize that, simply remember the days of Casey Hampton, James Farrior and Troy Polamalu and the (6) Super Bowl rings they own.
And the Steelers have questions to answer across the spine of their defense.
- Can Benton, in a new system, show he’s a true run-stopping nose tackle?
- If not, is Yahya Black that man, or perhaps even Gabriel Rubio?
- Are Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson strong enough to man the middle?
- And who will emerge at safety?
This last question is perhaps the most critical, because Omar Khan has already made several moves at safety.
After watching Kenny Pickett and Company look All World just three Augusts ago, Steelers fans need no reminder that preseason can be deceiving.
But preseason can still offer decent looks at individual position groups. And against the Packers, my focus will be on the spine of the Steelers defense.
