What will the Pittsburgh Steelers, and more specifically their offense, be like in 2026? You ask 10 people, and you’ll probably get 10 different answers.
If you ask former NFL QB Chase Daniel, he’s a bit more positive than most.
However, Daniel does want some changes schematically to take advantage of the talent he sees.
“Their core is locked in,” Daniel said Friday on NFL Live. “Michael Pittman, DK Metcalf. Germie Bernard, the rookie, I think is going to have an extremely versatile year. You look at all three of those guys, all three play different parts in the offense. The biggest thing, you gotta throw the football downfield at some point. You just watch the Texans’, specifically, shellacking. When they were playing Rodgers, they were just sitting on everything.”
The Steelers are really being slept on.
Solid offensive core….Germie Bernard is going to surprise a lot of people & Aaron Rodgers played better than ppl thought.
I dont get why people are down on them…just HAVE to find a legit run game. pic.twitter.com/42KA3WLeF8
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) June 5, 2026
The Steelers and QB Aaron Rodgers certainly did not push the football down field with any consistency in 2025. Per Pro Football Reference, Rodgers averaged 6.0 intended air yards per attempt.
That’s a fancy way of saying he averaged throwing the ball 6 yards past the line of scrimmage every time he dropped back and attempted a pass. That was the lowest mark of his career.
It coincides perfectly with his average time to throw. Per Pro Football Focus, Rodgers averaged 2.58 seconds from snap until release. That’s the second-quickest time of his career, only slower than his mark of 2.56 seconds in 2007. He only dropped back 35 times that season.
Whether by design, offensive line issues, or Rodgers himself, the Steelers did not attack downfield last season. Daniel thinks the Steelers need to change that in order to be a successful offense.
The Steelers are working this offseason to improve the blocking upfront, both personnel-wise by playing OT Troy Fautanu at left tackle and on the coaching staff by bringing in offensive line coach James Campen.
Pittsburgh certainly has the personnel at wide receiver to have a better passing attack this year. However, a deep passing attack isn’t the only thing Daniel thinks the Steelers need to be successful this year.
“You go back to McCarthy’s last year in 2024 with the Dallas Cowboys, they only ran the ball 37 percent of the time,” Daniel said. “They have to find some resemblance of a run game, not put it all on Aaron Rodgers.”
The Steelers certainly weren’t a powerhouse running team last year, either. They ran the ball 407 times, 28th in the league, and averaged 4.3 yards per carry, which ranked 17th. They were not a good rushing team with Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren last year.
That could change this season, as McCarthy brought in his former running back Rico Dowdle. Dowdle ran for 1,000-plus yards in each of his last two seasons.
The Steelers are planning to give both Dowdle and Warren “ample, equal time on the field,” according to running backs coach Ramon Chinyoung. So Dowdle may not come in and dominate the Steelers’ rushing attack.
However, the Steelers are certainly showing they’re serious about running the ball. If they can do that, they might have more opportunities to attack downfield.
If both things happen? This Steelers team could be better than most expect.
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