Red zone play is an important factor in winning football games. The Pittsburgh Steelers struggled mightily in 2024 and made a notable improvement in 2025. That was of encouraging to see, particularly in the ultimate goal of scoring touchdowns.
To illustrate this, here are red zone touchdown rates for NFL offenses in the 2024 and 2025 seasons:
On the x-axis, we see the painful 2024 results were near the bottom of the league. That 48.2 percent red zone touchdown rate ranked 29th in the NFL. Last season, this vastly improved to 58.8 percent. That’s more than a 10 percent improvement, moving the Steelers all the way up to an 11th rank in 2025.
QB Aaron Rodgers was a key difference in his first season with Pittsburgh. The savvy veteran excelled in the red area, with his experience paying off where tighter areas make things tougher for a lot of quarterbacks.
One example was the Russell Wilson/Justin Fields experience in 2024, especially Fields. The 2025 Steelers also had more red zone rushing TDs, to boot.
The 2026 red zone success will be greatly impacted by a change in coaching staff. This made me curious what new HC Mike McCarthy’s track record has been.
Here is how his Dallas Cowboys offenses ranked:
2024: 23rd (QB injury)
2023: 2nd
2022: 5th
2021: 11th
2020: 19th (QB injury)
When McCarthy had a healthy QB, the red zone TD results were strong. There were three seasons that ranked equal or better than the 2025 Steelers, including two top five ranks. It was evidence of McCarthy’s offensive mind paying off, no doubt. That aligns with Pittsburgh’s red zone offense likely remaining strong in 2026 on paper.
The flip side is this: What if Rodgers gets injured? Yes, this could be an opportunity for other quarterbacks to see the field. But for all of McCarthy’s offensive prowess, he wasn’t able to overcome starting QB injuries in his most recent coaching stint.
Of course, there’s also the element of McCarthy and Rogers reuniting. Their last five seasons together in Green Bay were largely successful, with above average ranks in four of five years, including three top 1o teams.
Plus, the Steelers made more investments to offensive personnel this offseason. Considering all these factors, the stats and facts really make for a good feeling about what the 2026 Steelers offense can accomplish. Hopefully that includes a strong red zone offense that’s putting up points.
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