Well, that was certainly one of the games of all time.
On a gloomy, rain-soaked day up in Foxborough, the Steelers had a day to forget against the New England Patriots. An uninspired offense could only muster three points, and Pittsburgh’s defense had the impossible task of holding the Patriots to anything less than that.
In theory, the Steelers still had a chance to mount a late-game comeback, until a strip sack left Rodgers on the ground and Patriot Elijah Ponder scooping up the loose change for a score.
It was just an all-around ugly game for the Steelers. Here’s the stock report from Week 2.
Stock Down: Aaron Rodgers
There was always an inherent risk by starting the oldest player in the NFL at quarterback. Sure, if 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers gets the right amount of time and protection, maybe he’s still got something here. But if any of that breaks down, Rodgers can’t escape or evade the danger the way a younger, more mobile quarterback could.
He looked every bit of 42 years old on Sunday. The final stat line of 24-of-39 for 184 yards feels deceptive. Sure, the offensive line did Rodgers no favors (and we will talk about that), and DK Metcalf also did very little to bail his quarterback out, but Rodgers had several inaccurate throws that were either underthrown, overthrown, or just not near his target.
If the offense is to be successful, they simply need a lot more out of him than what we saw on Sunday.
Stock Up: Roman Wilson
It’s hard to find players whose stock actually went up in this game, but I think Roman Wilson’s did. Though he didn’t make any crazy splash plays (a theme of Sunday’s offense), he was a sizable part of the receiving game. He tied for a team-leading five catches and a modest 28 yards.
It’s not much, but it’s honest work from Wilson. Truthfully, it’s nice just to see him actually getting involved in the passing game. Longtime readers of this site may remember I at one point would write “Roman Wilson does not exist,” in my game stories. I believed it was possible that Wilson was a figment of our imagination and not an actual wide receiver for the Steelers.
I’m happy for him to finally be getting some reps. He now has eight catches on the season, just four shy of his season total in 2025.
Stock Down: The Offensive Line
Rodgers did not have a good day at all on Sunday, but neither did the unit in front of him.
Sloppy, undisciplined blocking helped contribute to the 59 penalty yards the Steelers took, and their inability to protect the quarterback forced Rodgers into some dangerous situations.
Like Rodgers and the quarterback situation, this was another area of concern for the Steelers heading into this year. On a lengthy list of disastrous things for the Steelers today, the offensive line is near the top.
Stock Up: The Edge Rushers
Like I said, it’s hard to find positives from this game, but a lot of Pittsburgh’s edge rushers had a moment to be proud of on Sunday.
TJ Watt led the way with 1.5 sacks, adding to the two he had last week. He looks amazing so far, and it’s great to see him bouncing back after a less-than-perfect 2025 season. Nick Herbig had five tackles and forced a fumble, back when we were young and thought the Steelers had a chance in this game.
Alex Highsmith also contributed a sack to cap off a decent day from the edge guys.
Stock Down: Germie Bernard
I wanted to desperately to put Bernard in the “stock up” category, and had the last 5:17 of this game not happened, he probably makes it on there.
Getting a bigger role in the offense with the injury to Michael Pittman Jr., Bernard made his first five receptions in the NFL and earned his first 32 receiving yards. However, towards the end of the game, Bernard bobbles a pass from Rodgers and, well, this happened:
Though I don’t know if it’s warranted, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the biggest sample size we see out of Bernard all year. Rodgers could easily put Bernard in the dog house, and the rookie wide receiver could be subjected to the treatment Wilson suffered over his first two years in the NFL.
Stock Down: DK Metcalf
For the second week in a row, Metcalf’s stock is down.
In a game where the receiver lining up opposite him in Pittman was out with injury, the Steelers needed Metcalf even more to play like the $33 million man that he is. Unfortunately, Metcalf didn’t live up to the challenge.
Metcalf was targeted nine times, but only brought in four catches for a measly 27 yards. He suffered another case of the drops on Sunday against New England, and his inconsistency was just one of many reasons the passing attack was nothing short of anemic against the Patriots.
The Steelers need so much more out of him, and quick.
Stock Down: The Idea Of Change
One of the big reasons fans wanted a new head coach was the staleness of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Tomlin had done incredible work to get the Steelers to a non-losing season for 19 consecutive years, but the team had become uninspired and the style of play couldn’t keep up in today’s NFL.
Maybe Tomlin’s Steelers could win in the regular season, but they couldn’t in the playoffs anymore. The arrival of a new head coach in Mike McCarthy, even if he was on the older side, brought hope that an offensive-minded head coach could being the Steelers up to speed with modern NFL offenses.
It’s too early to make a final judgement two weeks in, but nothing feels new about this team and, in particular, this offense. This is the same drab, painful to watch offense and a unit that relies on the defense to carry them to a win. When are we going to see the change?
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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