Steelers ESPN watchability rankings
Steelers ESPN watchability rankings
The Pittsburgh Steelers have gone all in on the 2026 season, the first under new head coach Mike McCarthy. They’ve spent a lot of money on the current roster and added some key veterans to help compete at a high level as McCarthy lays his foundation.
Yet, when it comes to the Steelers’ outlook this season, many don’t see them having much of a chance to truly contend, or even be all that exciting.
It largely comes down to the quarterback situation, with the Steelers running it back with 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers in his final season.
For ESPN’s Benjamin Solak, who ranked all 32 teams based on watchability in 2026, the Steelers ranked near the bottom of the league, landing at No. 26 overall, right in between the New York Jets and the Las Vegas Raiders.
It centers around Rodgers.
“In a different time, an Aaron Rodgers swan song season would move the needle considerably. Though we’re a few years into Rodgers’ “last season” at this point, and my nostalgia for his prime has been well used,” Solak writes of the Steelers. “His checkdown-heavy style of play is not particularly enjoyable to watch, though the Steelers’ supersized running game featuring Darnell Washington and that excellent offensive line is a pleasing view.”
It’s understandable that it’s hard to get all that excited about watching Rodgers at 42 years old. After all, what he showed last season wasn’t all that great. While he had some terrific moments in big spots, Rodgers too often got rid of the ball quickly, limiting the passing game to checkdowns and quick throws, hoping receivers would create after the catch.
Though he’s reunited with McCarthy, under whom he won two MVPs and a Super Bowl title in Green Bay, it’s hard to see that magic returning for one final season at this stage of his career. That limits the excitement for the Steelers.
There is a curiosity factor at play with the Steelers under McCarthy, though, considering he’s the first new head coach in two decades.
“The Steelers are a curiosity watch. I have faint memories of watching a Steelers team not coached by Mike Tomlin — Bill Cowher’s bristly mustache and thick turtleneck last prowled the sideline when I was 9 years old,” Solak writes. “But I’ve seen a lot of Mike McCarthy-coached teams, and I know what I’m in for in regards to clock management and playcalling style. A bunch of dropbacks is usually fun — McCarthy’s Dallas and Green Bay offenses passed the ball more than the average team of their era — but in the case of a 42-year-old Rodgers, not so much.
“That defensive line, though? I’ll tune in to watch it feast on bad opponents.”
While curiosity is piqued with the Steelers over a new head coach, there’s no real unknown with McCarthy. The Steelers broke tradition with the head-coaching hire, going with the 62-year-old McCarthy as a retread rather than chasing a young, up-and-coming defensive mind and giving him his first shot.
So, it’s easy to see why Solak might feel that way about the Steelers under McCarthy. It’s well known how he wants to attack offensively, and what his teams tend to look like.
Could that change with this version of the Steelers? Sure, but it’s difficult to see McCarthy trying to reinvent the wheel here.
Pittsburgh should be a good team in 2026, but will they be enjoyable to watch? That remains to be seen. They should be more enjoyable to watch on offense with McCarthy calling the shots than they were in the last half-decade under Tomlin, though; that’s for sure.