Analyst offers brutal 2026 outlook for Mike McCarthy's Steelers

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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."

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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. Dowdle and others to pair with Rodgers?

Plus, you know that Aaron gives you the best chance to win games, so bringing him back clearly signals Pittsburgh's intentions -- it wants to win now.

Can they do it? Well, they haven't "won" for a while, and I agree with Sullivan, I don't see them doing it in 2026.

More NFL news:​

• David Njoku makes incredible Chargers statement on 2026 expectations
• Steelers' Aaron Rodgers makes definitive 3-word statement on NFL future
• Commanders' Terry McLaurin offers 3-word response to 10-target comment from OC
• Joe Burrow makes eyebrow-raising comment on Bengals' 2026 roster
• Steelers' 2026 projection has famous streak coming to screeching halt

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