Analyst offers brutal 2026 outlook for Mike McCarthy's Steelers
This isn't that outlandish.
Analyst offers brutal 2026 outlook for Mike McCarthy's Steelers originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Pittsburgh Steelers remain one of the teams that leaves you scratching your head, especially over the past handful of seasons.
Boasting a team good enough to scrape into the playoffs, but never good enough to actually challenge, the Steelers will follow that same path in 2026. Aaron Rodgers returns, and Mike McCarthy is the hew head coach, and while the additions of Rico Dowdle, Michael Pittman Jr. , Jaquan Brisker and Jamel Dean are fine, but the Steelers still feel like a team that lacks true Super Bowl punch.
And for CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan, while giving the franchise a C+ grade for its offseason, he's delivered a brutal assessment of their 2026 chances. "Pittsburgh will have a new leader pulling the strings in McCarthy, and while some of their additions will make them more competitive in 2026, this doesn't feel like a team with a championship ceiling," Sullivan wrote . "Instead, they'll continue to one of the higher floors in the conference, which isn't exactly going to make you jump out of your seat in excitement.
" MORE: Bills earn surprising offseason grade to begin Joe Brady era What are Steelers' expectations? Well, they brought back a 42-year-old Rodgers, so you have to say they are in win-now mode, which means fighting for the division and making a deep playoff run, right? Why else would you add the likes of Pittman Jr.