Fans of the Cleveland Browns know their bitter rivals would never admit it, but with Mike Tomlin heading from the sidelines to the broadcast booth, there’s a real chance the Steelers’ sustained run of above-.500 ball comes to an emphatic end in 2026.
The Steelers’ new era involves a recycled Packers head coach-quarterback combo in Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers. With Rodgers now officially back in Pittsburgh for the 2026 season, fans of the AFC North are all quietly thinking the same thing: Is this the year the Steelers finally shift from contender to pretender?
The latter feels very much in play — and the Browns’ ascending young roster could be poised to reap the benefits this season.
The Steelers enter 2026 with an aging roster, still clinging to that old Tomlin identity of reloading over rebuilding. With the Ravens and Bengals clearly superior on paper, and the Browns closing the gap this offseason, Pittsburgh could find itself struggling to win division games this year. Thanks to a pair of scheduling quirks, even the Browns should present Pittsburgh with some major problems.
According to NFL insider Dan Graziano, Pittsburgh’s plan for 2026 may already have cracks in the foundation. McCarthy’s relationship with Rodgers was shaky at best when he was fired by Green Bay in December of 2018. Time may heal all wounds, but fans should be watching closely at the first sign of trouble this year.
“Well they were losing, and I think the relationship is in a better place now because it’s been more than seven years since they’ve lost a game together,” Graziano said during Monday morning’s episode of Get Up on ESPN. “And Rodgers has talked about this — the time that’s gone in between has helped him kind of appreciate what he and Mike McCarthy accomplished together.
So I do think there’s been a little bit of a softening for a relationship that was absolutely frayed — if not broken — by the end of Mike McCarthy’s time in Green Bay. It all sounds great, but again, if things were to start to go bad, if the Steelers were to lose games, have a rough season, I mean, the fact of the matter is we’ve seen with Aaron Rodgers how it goes. He makes sure that he’s not the one getting blamed.”
Dan Graziano just exposed the biggest flaw in the Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers plan
Graziano almost grimaced as he delivered that final punchline, but he hit the nail on the head. If the Steelers’ offense struggles in 2026 with a statuesque, 42-year-old Rodgers under center, it will be everybody’s fault but his.
The best part for Browns fans is that those first signs of trouble could come early. The Steelers did what they always did under Tomlin, and that’s overachieve their way into the AFC playoffs last season. They also managed to win the AFC North title with just 10 wins, and that means their schedule will be much tougher than the Browns’ in 2026.
The Steelers’ first eight games are especially daunting:
- Week 1: vs. Falcons
- Week 2: at Patriots
- Week 3: vs. Bengals
- Week 4: at Browns, Thursday Night Football
- Week 5: vs. Colts
- Week 6: at Buccaneers
- Week 7: vs. Saints (international game in Paris)
- Week 8: vs. Browns
Pittsburgh may be fortunate to hit its Week 9 bye with four wins. Steelers fans definitely shouldn’t be betting on a pair of gift-wrapped wins over the Browns, either.
Cleveland hasn’t swept the Steelers in a regular-season series in the franchise’s expansion era, but that could change in 2026. The Browns host the Steelers in Week 4 on a Thursday night, a spot that tends to favor the home team (especially one with a dominant defense). In Week 8, the Browns travel to Pittsburgh, catching a jet-lagged Steelers team on short rest due to travel obligations from France the week prior.
Which team really has the better chance to finish above .500 in 2026, the Browns or the Steelers? That hasn’t even been a serious question over the past couple of decades. It’s well worth the debate now, though, and Pittsburgh’s questionable plan to arrange a second marriage between Rodgers and McCarthy is the main reason why. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
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