Steelers Now
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — As the 2025 season rolls on, more and more of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ flaws continue to come to light.
The Steelers were obviously an incomplete team when the season starter, with a notable need for playmakers in the offensive receiving game. But as they’re progressed through the year, more and more issues have cropped up.
The team’s 25-10 drubbing by the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday revealed a whole new flaw — or at least brought one to light.
There’s plenty of season remaining, and it’s certainly possibly that the Steelers could resolve those issues in time to make a meaningful run into the postseason, but I wouldn’t bet on it — after all, the Steelers themselves didn’t when given the opportunity to this week.
The most glaringly obvious problem with this team, dating back to May, has been the lack of a secondary wide receiver beyond DK Metcalf, in particular another player to stretch the field and open space for the team’s legion of underneath options, and/or also a player which some easy separation ability.
At the 2025 NFL trade deadline, general manager Omar Khan had the opportunity to add to the receiving room, and though he was in several conversations, he ultimately declined to be the team to pay the most for any player that was in the market.
Sunday against the Chargers, Steelers receivers constantly struggled to find separation against what is a very pedestrian secondary, and while Aaron Rodgers did not play well — more on him in a bit — his receivers also didn’t help him out much. Jonnu Smith bobbled and was ruled to have dropped a high but catchable pass early on. Calvin Austin III let an interception clank off his hands late.
But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg, when it comes to what we’ve learned about this team over the last four weeks — or again, maybe should have known.
In addition to the team’s lack of receiving weapons, the Steelers have a very inexperienced offensive line. Broderick Jones is a first-time starter at left tackle. Troy Fautanu is a first-time starter overall. Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick are second- and fourth-round picks in their second seasons. Sunday, Isaac Seumalo, the team’s lone veteran offensive lineman, missed the game with a pec injury, and they struggled to keep Rodgers clean against what is a deep and talented Chargers edge rushing group.
The play of the tackles, in particular, made life tough for Rodgers, who repeatedly, ineffectively tried to step up in the pocket when pressured from behind on the edge. For a quarterback with little escapability in his arsenal, that quick pressure was very difficult to deal with.
The Steelers’ tackles had a rocky start the season to the season, with Rodgers getting sacked seven times over the first two weeks. Since then, the play of the tackles had largely stabilized, even though they played some strong edge rushers like Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons.
The...
