The Steelers are 6-2 — And That’s No Fluke
They’re winning games the way they intended — and in the way they can continue to win them.
PHOTO BY ALYSA RUBIN/PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The 6-2 record the Steelers achieved prior to their bye has been interpreted by some as surprising, locally and nationally.
A more accurate assessment would be it’s the result of what can happen when a plan comes together. And don’t you just love that if you’re a Steelers fan?
The idea ever since Omar Khan was named general manager and Andy Weidl was hired as the assistant general manager five seasons ago has been to build the trenches. The investment in the offensive line and the defensive front since then has been as deliberate as it has been extensive.
Offensive tackle Broderick Jones (first round), defensive tackle Keeanu Benton (second round), tight end Darnell Washington (third round), outside linebacker Nick Herbig (fourth round) and offensive lineman Spencer “No. 74 is eligible” Anderson (seventh round) were drafted in 2023.
In 2024, offensive tackle Troy Fautanu (first round), center Zach Frazier (second round), inside linebacker Payton Wilson (third round) and guard Mason McCormick were brought aboard.
In 2025, defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, outside linebacker Jack Sawyer (fourth round) and defensive tackle Yahya Black (fifth round) were summoned.
And this past April, the Steelers selected offensive tackle Max Iheanachor (first round), guard Gennings Dunker (third round), fullback Riley Nowakowski and defensive tackle Gabe Rubio (sixth round).
PITTSBURGH STEELERS QUARTERBACK AARON RODGERS DURING A REGULAR SEASON GAME BETWEEN THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS AND THE CINCINNATI BENGALS, THURSDAY, OCT. 16, 2025 IN CINCINNATI, OH. | PHOTO BY KARL ROSER/PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The building process up front was augmented by investing in a couple of veteran free agents, such as inside linebacker Patrick Queen in 2024 and guard Brock Hoffman this season. This season, they’ve even started to get contributions from an undrafted rookie — defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr..
Just so you know, this run/stop-the-run formula that’s fueled the four-game winning streak the Steelers carried into this weekend’s bye has been anticipated by the Khan-Weidl tag team. Jones may have since been shipped to Dallas, and Dunker has yet to contribute, but the bones of the team the Steelers intended to assemble are in place.
The process of becoming the team they wanted to be has been accelerated this season, for a couple of reasons.
No. 1, new head coach Mike McCarthy’s new staff included offensive line coach James Campen and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham (McCarthy’s first two hires, as he reminded everyone recently).
Campen’s reputation preceded him; McCarthy thinks Campen is the best at what he does in the league. The players know Campen cares, that he wants to make them better, and they’ve responded to his coaching/teaching. Campen has also provided a veteran presence and perspective for the staff.
As for Graham, he’s a defensive line coach at heart. His approach to coordinating defenses starts there, and includes healthy doses of what he’s learned about coaching in general and defenses in particular from, of all people, Bill Belichick.
PHOTO BY KARL ROSER/PITTSBURGH STEELERS
No. 2, the Steelers got lucky back in April when they intended to draft wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round only to have him snatched from their grasp by the Eagles. The pivot to Iheanachor, who is already a run-blocking rock star, could hardly have worked out any better. He’d have been a starter from game one had he not been injured in training camp.
Since Iheanachor and Hoffman were inserted into the starting lineup on Sep. 27 against the Bengals, what can be gleaned from the offensive line, and what that means to the team, has come more clearly into focus with each passing week.
Perhaps the best aspect of building a team in such a fashion is that it translates and travels.
The Steelers can play the trench warfare game and rely on the run/stop-the-run approach at home or on the road, in good weather and in bad, in October and November and in January.
If they continue to do so with the success they’ve enjoyed of late it should surprise no one.
This has been what they envisioned all along.
