Steelers offensive tackle Max Iheanachor plays during the second half of an NFL football game against the Bills at Highmark Stadium, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Steelers offensive tackle Max Iheanachor plays during the second half of an NFL football game against the Bills at Highmark Stadium, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Meanwhile, uncertainty persists with the Joey Porter Jr. situation after the cornerback missed another game Sunday
After Aaron Rodgers got beaten up Sunday and was pressured into a number of short throws at New England, the Steelers are considering changes on their offensive line.
And they could involve Max Iheanachor, their 2026 first-round draft pick.
Iheanachor has played only four offensive snaps in two games after getting in for three in the 20-3 loss to the Patriots. But with the line struggling with protection and the run game, he could replace Dylan Cook at right tackle.
The Steelers believe they need to do something after the offensive line failed to adequately protect Rodgers, even after coach Mike McCarthy said the team worked all week to prepare for the Patriots’ pressure packages.
[Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy talks to Ben Skowronek (15) during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy talks to Ben Skowronek (15) during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)](https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2026/09/20/steelers-patriots-aaron-rodgers-mike-mccarthy/stories/202609200092)
“The consistency of winning in the trenches, we need to be better there,” McCarthy said.
Rodgers was sacked four times and fumbled on two of them. One was returned for a 19-yard touchdown by Patriots linebacker Elijah Ponder.
On the other, he took a vicious blind-side hit from linebacker Christian Elliss that knocked the Steelers out of field-goal range. Center Zach Frazier took the blame for that play, saying he failed to communicate the correct call to the left side of the offensive line.
“That was definitely a shot,” Rodgers said. “I haven’t taken too many of those in my career because usually I have a feeling for picked up or not picked up. That was a lapse in communication.”
Nonetheless, McCarthy can’t have his 42-year-old quarterback getting hit like that.
“We put a lot of time and energy into the protection component of how we felt the game was going to go,” McCarthy said. “Our protections weren’t clean. We had opportunities, whether it was communication and breakdowns, but clearly in the first half that took away some opportunities for big plays.”
The only time the passing game showed any rhythm was on the final drive, when Rodgers completed 7 of 9 passes for 88 yards. That drive, though, ended when rookie receiver Germie Bernard had a pass deflect off of his hands right to Patriots linebacker Gabe Jacas, who came away with an interception.
“We have to give Aaron better platforms to throw off of and have the opportunities because I don’t want to dink and dunk and play keep-away football,” McCarthy said. “There’s a place for that, maybe situationally, but that’s not the philosophy.”
The offensive line has had a lot moving parts this season. Right tackle Troy Fautanu and right guard Mason McCormick flipped sides with Cook and left guard Spencer Anderson after Broderick Jones had spinal fusion surgery.
Jones, a former first-round pick, was subsequently traded to the Dallas Cowboys before the season.
“Something has got to change,” Fautanu said. “I don’t know whether we’re not working hard enough as an offense or not working hard enough as an O-line. We’re not connecting well with each other.”
Porter situation drags on
The Joey Porter Jr. saga bleeds into another week with the same uncertainty that has cloaked the situation since he came off the physically unable to perform list on Aug. 30.
Despite several national reports suggesting Porter could return to practice this week, the Steelers are still uncertain if that’s the case.
If he does return, it’s not because he has been given any type of assurances from the team about his contract status.
Team sources told the Post-Gazette before the season opener the Steelers are done talking to their fourth-year cornerback about a new contract and will not have any further discussion on the matter.
Porter rejected the Steelers’ final contract offer of slightly more than $27 million annually, per team sources. It would appear to make little sense he would then return to play for the $3.9 million he is scheduled to earn in the final year of his current contract.
If he did, that would also mean his “hold-in” during the spring and the back injury he reported on the first day of training camp were for naught.
Only seven NFL cornerbacks average at least $25 million annually, according to overthecap.com. Only 11 average more than $20 million.
First Published: September 21, 2026, 5:06 p.m.