In 2024, the Pittsburgh Steelers continued their enviable record of 21-straight years without a losing season. However, they also lost in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.
The team has struggled to find a long-term starting quarterback since two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger’s final season in 2021. In a recent episode of Roethlisberger’s podcast, “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger,” media favorite Pat McAfee gave a damning verdict of the situation.
Pat McAfee Slams Steelers’ Offense for Its ‘Ineptitude’
After discussing the potential of Aaron Rodgers joining the Steelers, Roethlisberger asked his guest what the team was lacking. Not holding back, McAfee, who comes from a Steelers-supporting family, laid into the team’s offense.
“It’s always been the offense, right?” he said before going into the lack of imagination that the team’s play-callers have shown in recent years. “Recent history has been, like rugby football, looking like the Iowa Hawkeyes. The defense, always gonna be good; the offense, inept.”
“This is no offense to you,” he said, gesturing towards his host. “Since you left, there has been a, ‘We need a Ben Roethlisberger here.’ And then you’ve got people watching the offense, and it’s just ineptitude.”
McAfee Fires a Shot at Former Steelers OC Matt Canada
During his verbal dismemberment of the Steelers’ offense, McAfee aimed a thinly-veiled shot at former Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
“I don’t have any relationship with any of these offensive coordinators, so I’m not gonna say any names.” McAfee appeared to lower his gloves before delivering the blow, “but there’s a country above America that was an offensive coordinator here. And it felt like me, a person that grew up playing soccer, just a fan of football and the Pittsburgh Steelers and NFL football. It felt like I could probably call offense a little better than, maybe, he could.”
McAfee immediately admitted that he was armchair quarterbacking, but plenty would echo his feelings about Canada’s handling of the Pittsburgh offense. The show’s guest did offer some hope, however, suggesting that stability may be the real issue.
“I think, for a few years, they’ve been unsettled offensively. So I think if they just get some sort of plan – stability and a plan on the offense. ‘Cause you know the defense is gonna be good.”
If stability on offense is what the team needs, then the continued indecision of Rodgers hasn’t helped. With a defense full of experienced players that will give the team a chance in any game, the pressure is on the team to put it together on offense in 2025.