The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Mike McCarthy to fix the offense, and a quarter of the way through his first season it has looked like two different units. It scored one touchdown in the first two games and six in the next two, including three in the 27-24 loss in Cleveland on Thursday night.
Pittsburgh is 2-2 and ranks 25th in offensive EPA per play, per NextLevelStats. With a mini-bye before the Indianapolis Colts visit on Oct. 11, here is how each position group and the head coach grade out through four games.
Quarterback: D+
Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
Aaron Rodgers has 999 passing yards and seven touchdown passes, and those totals flatter him. He needed 153 attempts to get there, he is completing 57.5% of them, and Pro Football Reference has charted 31 of his passes as bad throws, a 21.7% rate.
The bigger problem is how long the bad stretches last. The offense scored one touchdown in 25 possessions over the first two weeks. In Cleveland, it managed three points on seven straight possessions after its opening drive, and Denzel Ward’s interception in that stretch started a run of 21 straight Browns points.
He does tend to rebound. Six of his seven touchdown passes came in the past two games, and he led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives Thursday to tie the score after trailing by 11. But PFF ranks the 42-year-old 19th among 34 quarterbacks with a 65.5 overall grade, he has been sacked on 20.6% of his pressured dropbacks, which ranks 26th, and he missed DK Metcalf on two big plays in Cleveland. Pittsburgh can’t keep spotting opponents a half while its quarterback finds his rhythm.
Running backs: B+
Jaylen Warren is the best thing this offense has going. He has 309 rushing yards at 5.6 per carry and 143 more as a receiver, and PFF grades him 10th among 46 running backs with 15 missed tackles forced and 3.76 yards after contact per attempt.
The offense found the formula when Warren got 17 carries in each of the past two games and turned them into 220 yards. Two things keep this from an A. Pittsburgh still doesn’t have a rushing touchdown, and Rico Dowdle gave the team 37 yards on 15 carries before a toe injury in Week 2 cost him the next two games.
Offensive line: C-
Rodgers has been sacked 13 times, five of them Thursday. The Browns generated 24 pressures on 50 pass plays, according to PFF, and left guard Mason McCormick finished with a 43.8 pass-blocking grade.
Some of that sack total belongs to the quarterback, and there are real positives here. PFF had the unit 11th in its offensive line rankings entering Week 4 after first-round rookie Max Iheanachor took over at right tackle and Brock Hoffman at right guard, and Warren’s past two games show the run blocking has improved since that change. But this was the unit facing a massive test in Cleveland, and it failed. Protection that breaks down that often will get a 42-year-old quarterback hurt.
Tight ends: A-
This has been the most dependable group on the offense. Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington have combined for 23 catches, 244 yards and three of the team’s seven touchdown catches, including both fourth-quarter scores in Cleveland.
Neither has dropped a pass, and Rodgers has a passer rating above 120 when targeting either one, according to Pro Football Reference. Washington has been the standout. PFF grades him seventh among 34 tight ends, his 9.4 yards after the catch per reception ranks third at the position, and PFF gave him a 76.8 run-blocking grade against the Browns. He has 13 targets in four games. McCarthy should be calling his number more often.
Wide receivers: C
Metcalf’s 115-yard night in Cleveland made his season line look better than it is. He had 98 yards in the first three games, has caught 16 of 33 targets and has been charged with three drops by PFF, which grades him 59th among 85 receivers.
Without Roman Wilson, this grade drops a full letter. He has 188 yards and two touchdown catches, and his 78.2 grade against the Browns was the best on the offense, according to PFF. Michael Pittman Jr. has seven catches for 89 yards in three games, and his Week 4 performance drew a 42.5 grade, the lowest on the unit, with two penalties. It’s no surprise trade candidates at receiver are already being floated.
Head coach: C-
McCarthy calls the plays, so the situational numbers are his. Pittsburgh converts 32% of its third downs, 30th in the league, scores touchdowns on 44.4% of its red-zone trips, 28th, and averages 1.49 points per drive, 27th, according to Pro Football Reference.
He owned the Week 2 mess in New England. “The reality of it is the detail’s not there, and that’s on coaching,” McCarthy said after that loss. The past two weeks were better, but the operation still isn’t clean. His heated exchange with Rodgers on the opening drive Thursday went viral, and after scoring on that possession the offense managed three points until the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh has 27 points in two road games. “We definitely have to be better on the road,” McCarthy said after the game. The Colts come to Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. ET. If the protection and the third-down numbers don’t improve, this grade will be lower at the midpoint.
