The visual was just as bad as the numbers.
Let's start with some of the statistics.
At the end of the first quarter, the Steelers were worse than the Patriots in the following offensive categories: first downs, 2-6; third down conversions: 0-for-3 vs. 2-for-2; total net yards: 42 to 139; rushing yards: 17 to 63; punts: 2 to 0.
In the first half, the Steelers ran 13 plays on first downs, and those 13 plays managed a total of 29 yards.
This nugget was from CBS' telecast of the Steelers 20-3 loss to the Patriots: Sunday's game was the first time that Coach Mike McCarthy and QB Aaron Rodgers combined for a no-touchdown game since a 7-3 loss to the Lions in Detroit on Dec. 12, 2010.
The Steelers ran 67 offensive plays in the game and only 1 of those gained 20-plus yards. That came via a 26-yard catch-and-run by Jaylen Warren with 6:24 remaining in the fourth quarter when the Patriots already led, 20-3. By comparison, New England had 6 plays of 20-plus yards, including a 39-yard run for a touchdown by TreVeyon Henderson midway through the first quarter to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead.
"Offensively, clearly not good enough," said McCarthy in the postgame. "That starts with me … It's two weeks. I think the big thing is — the buzz words are to come in here and say everything's correctible, we can fix everything. That's a fact. It's true. But if you're making the same mistakes, those are the things – whether you're young or a veteran – that's what we have to address."
In many cases this is where the visual comes into play to supply emphasis. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Steelers first play of the game was a run by Rico Dowdle where he was hit in the backfield on the way to a 1-yard gain.
The stat sheet tells us the Steelers running game finished with 91 yards on 23 attempts (4.0 average) but subtracting the 2 runs for 15 yards after the score was 20-3, the total was 76 yards on 21 attempts (3.6 average). In their first three offensive possessions they ran the ball 6 times for 17 yards (2.8 average), and those three possessions ended: 3-and-out, 3-and-out, missed field goal.
"The run game was a little bit herky-jerky," said McCarthy. "I thought we got better in that area, but the consistency of winning in the trenches, we need to be better there. But the reality of it is the detail is not there, and that's on coaching. It starts with me. I'm calling the offense. I have to get the detail better … I didn't do a good job."
Especially impactful has been the inability to convent on possession downs. On Sunday, they were 0-for-3 in the first quarter and then 2-of-8 at halftime on the way to a 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) afternoon. In the opener, they were 0-for-2 in the first quarter and then 2-for-7 at halftime on the way to a 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) finish. That's a couple of weeks' worth of below the line.
"We've got to look at the volume, too," said McCarthy. "That's Marty Schottenheimer, that was his thing. If it's not clean, you cut the volume down, and we're not clean on offense. That's the starting point, and that's my fault. It was a great lesson for a young coach to learn, and here I am some old (guy) who didn't do it this week. If it's not clean, you cut the volume down, and we're not clean on offense. So the volume is getting cut down. That's the starting point, and that's my fault."
One of the disappointing and costly factors has been apparent misfires in the McCarthy-Rodgers orchestration of the offense. Their past relationship, their history of success, their feel for offense was supposed to make beautiful music. A veteran offensive strategist/play-caller combining with a savvy/experienced QB with superior arm talent was supposed to do better than 1 TD in around 128 snaps over 2 weeks.
"We've got a quarterback who could play at any volume of game plan, but at the end of the day, it's a team game," said McCarthy. "We've got to give Aaron [Rodgers] better platforms to throw off because I don't want to dink-and-dunk and play keep-away football. There's a place for that maybe situationally, but that's not the philosophy. We have to attempt to get the ball thrown downfield."
But that requires adequate protection and then receivers who can separate and make plays starting with catching the ball. At different times of the game, the protection and the receivers came up short.
None of the 5 starting offensive linemen – Troy Fautanu, Mason McCormick, Zach Frazier, Spencer Anderson, Dylan Cook – distinguished himself with his performance. It will be up to McCarthy to decide the pecking order from worst to best and then whether any better options exist somewhere else on the roster. But Rodgers was sacked 4 times and took 7 hits, which is way too much bouncing off Gillette Stadium's artificial surface even for a man 10 years younger.
More statistics, these from NFL Research:
• Rodgers was pressured on 38.6 percent of his drop-backs, his highest rate in a game as a Steeler, taking 4 sacks. On short pass attempts (under 10 air yards), he completed 20-of-27 for 142 yards and 1 interception. On downfield throws (10-plus air yards), Rodgers connected on just 3-of-9 attempts for 45 yards. Rodgers is 0-of-9 this season on throws of 20-plus air yards.
"All this really leads to one thing, and that's your players being confident," said McCarthy. "When you're not having success, when things aren't rolling, flow is important. We talk about getting up-tempo, playing out of the huddle and putting our players in position through rhythm, timing, execution. And if it's not there, then that's what happens. Whether you're blocking, whether you're catching footballs, whether you're running routes, whether you're throwing the ball. When the confidence isn't right, the execution suffers. To me, I think that's football."
The NFL is two games into its 2026 regular season, and so far there is parity (or mediocrity depending on your level of cynicism) all over the place. Not including the Sunday night game, there were 13 teams with 1-1 records – including AFC presumptive playoff locks Baltimore, New England, Jacksonville, and Denver. And it will be 15 teams at 1-1 if the Rams win their home opener vs. the New York Giants on Monday night.
Clearly, there is a lot of football left to be played. But just as clearly, the football currently being played by the Steelers is not good enough. Not even close.
"I think we've got to take ownership as players," said Rodgers. "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 wasn't good enough. We've got to start with ourselves and not point the finger and not ride the roller coaster. It's a long season. The Patriots are the AFC Super Bowl team from last year, and we knew it was going to be a tough game. Our defense played excellent football. When (the defense) holds them to 13, we've got to win the game. It's definitely on us to play better. You're not going to see me panic. I don't think Mike's [McCarthy] going to panic. Urgency is going to go up a little bit for sure, but no panic."
