The Pittsburgh Steelers are aiming for better offensive results under Mike McCarthy. That could come with an old-school approach.<\/p>\n
McCarthy\u2019s bread and butter is the West Coast system. Aaron Rodgers even remarked he\u2019s basically the only coach these days staying true to those roots.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s been evident out of the gate. Pittsburgh\u2019s early-down snaps have often come under center. During the initial warmup period to begin each practice, the offense working as a unit while the defense reps on the other field, the Steelers have come out under center. Play calls have mixed in stretch handoffs and play-action.<\/p>\n
During other periods of camp, the Steelers have gotten under center out of the Strong I or I-Form. Play-action has been a staple off it. On one rep, Will Howard faked the handoff to the deep back and threw a 10-yard dig to rookie wide receiver Germie Bernard (who dropped the pass<\/a> but that\u2019s beside the point).<\/p>\n Our Clayton Eckert researched how often the Steelers were under center last season and how often they threw from there.<\/p>\n Category Under Center Snaps Under Center Rushes Under Center Passes It\u2019s slightly below-average across the board. Under McCarthy, Pittsburgh figures to be in the top half and potentially comfortably above.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t guarantee a more successful offense. It does, however, offer a new approach. One that is tried and true and generally been successful under McCarthy, who has led a top-12 scoring offense 12 times throughout his coaching tenure.<\/p>\n In 2025, many of the top-scoring offenses ranked equally high in under-center snaps. The Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions all ranked top-five in total under-center snaps a year ago. Combined, those five teams averaged 28.3 points per game.<\/a> Some of that may be circumstantial, teams who score and win can get under center late, but that doesn\u2019t explain everything.<\/p>\n McCarthy matching that success will have its added challenges. He doesn\u2019t have a prime Aaron Rodgers or Dak Prescott. He has a 42-year-old Rodgers with declining mobility. In the past, we\u2019ve seen Pittsburgh lean on shotgun-heavy offenses with older quarterbacks like Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson and Rodgers a year ago.<\/p>\n Entering camp, Rodgers spoke to the need to get under center on first down.<\/p>\n
\nRank<\/p>\n
\nTied-17th<\/p>\n
\nTied-17th<\/p>\n
\nTied-18th<\/p>\n