Getting Under Center Could Be Key To Pittsburgh Finding Offensive Success 

The Pittsburgh Steelers are aiming for better offensive results under Mike McCarthy. That could come with an old-school approach.

McCarthy’s bread and butter is the West Coast system. Aaron Rodgers even remarked he’s basically the only coach these days staying true to those roots.

That’s been evident out of the gate. Pittsburgh’s 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.

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 but that’s beside the point).

Our Clayton Eckert researched how often the Steelers were under center last season and how often they threw from there.

It’s slightly below-average across the board. Under McCarthy, Pittsburgh figures to be in the top half and potentially comfortably above.

That doesn’t 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.

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. Some of that may be circumstantial, teams who score and win can get under center late, but that doesn’t explain everything.

McCarthy matching that success will have its added challenges. He doesn’t have a prime Aaron Rodgers or Dak Prescott. He has a 42-year-old Rodgers with declining mobility. In the past, we’ve seen Pittsburgh lean on shotgun-heavy offenses with older quarterbacks like Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson and Rodgers a year ago.

Entering camp, Rodgers spoke to the need to get under center on first down.

“We gotta be under center,” Rodgers said on camp report day. “We gotta be under center and get the play-action game going and the movement game going. But it starts under center,” Rodgers said of throwing on early downs, according to video provided by the team. “I think some of the best offenses in the league are not…they’re not too shotgun happy. Obviously on third down, you’re gonna be in shotgun.

“But the more you can be under center on first, second down, I think it’s really important to being efficient on those downs as well.”

It’s a data point we’ll chart and map throughout the preseason and especially during the regular season. Pittsburgh’s offensive leap forward could come through an old-school approach. For a unit that’s struggled to score points for years, the Steelers will take results no matter how they come.