Mike McCarthy is proving the Steelers’ critics wrong

There was supposed to be a funeral for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. Plenty of commentators had already written them off before the year began. Then Mike McCarthy kept winning. That’s been a theme throughout his coaching career.

McCarthy spent 13 seasons leading the Green Bay Packers, becoming the second-winningest coach in franchise history with 135 victories, behind only Curly Lambeau. Green Bay reached the playoffs nine times during his tenure and won the Super Bowl in 2010.

After leaving the Packers, McCarthy took a year away from coaching before joining the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. He guided Dallas to the playoffs in three of his five seasons, including three straight 12-win campaigns from 2021 to 2023. The Cowboys let his contract expire anyway. He stepped away again in 2025, while Pittsburgh continued to struggle to keep pace with the league’s best.

Mike Tomlin’s Steelers were never bad. He went 19 seasons without a losing record, but Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. Tomlin’s consistency kept the team in the postseason conversation, yet the offense rarely looked elite and the playoff results stopped coming. The Steelers were stuck in a kind of high-end mediocrity.

Even so, many national commentators dismissed the idea of moving on from Tomlin. They argued he’d land another job almost immediately, as though Pittsburgh should keep repeating the same approach and expect a different result.

After another lopsided playoff loss to the Houston Texans in the 2026 wild-card round, Tomlin stepped down. Given the Steelers’ history of hiring young coaches, some expected the team to follow that pattern again. Chuck Noll was 37 when he was hired in 1969; Bill Cowher was 34 in 1992, and Tomlin was also 34 when he took over in 2007. Names such as Jesse Minter, Anthony Weaver, Chris Shula and Nate Scheelhaase were floated as candidates. Instead, Pittsburgh hired 62-year-old McCarthy, a decision that drew plenty of ridicule.

Some critics called it an uninspired choice for a team in Pittsburgh’s position. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky went further, describing a possible pairing of McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers as the worst decision the Steelers could make.

Sports commentary can sometimes feel like a high-school cafeteria: certain people are deemed cool, and others aren’t invited to the table. McCarthy has often been treated as the latter, while contemporaries such as Tomlin and Sean Payton are praised as if they invented the game. That’s a little odd, considering McCarthy has more playoff wins than either of them and owns a Super Bowl ring.

So how has that supposedly disastrous hire gone? At the halfway point, Pittsburgh is 6-2 and leads the AFC North. Its win total is tied for the most in the conference, and the Steelers are only half a game behind the AFC’s top seed.

During their four-game winning streak, Pittsburgh has ranked first in EPA per rush, second in rushing yards and third in yards per carry. The offense has also placed seventh in EPA per play and ninth in success rate over that stretch, averaging just under 26 points a game.

Jaylen Warren has been a major part of the turnaround. The former undrafted Oklahoma State back ranks third in the league in yards from scrimmage, behind only Jahmyr Gibbs and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and leads all running backs in total EPA.

The defense has improved, too. After finishing 26th in total defense last season, Pittsburgh is sixth through eight games. The Steelers are tied for fifth in defensive EPA per play and lead the NFL with 26 sacks. T.J. Watt tops the league with 7.5.

While people were ready to write Pittsburgh off after McCarthy’s hiring, his longtime peer Sean Payton has had a rougher time on offense in Denver. The Broncos rank 30th in yards per game, yet Payton continues to receive broad praise. McCarthy and the Steelers, meanwhile, have simply kept winning. Many expected the team to fall apart after the Tomlin era ended. So far, it has improved instead.

Three and out

The Bears are the NFC team to beat

The NFC doesn’t have many clear-cut elite teams, but Chicago made a strong case for itself with a blowout win over Seattle on Monday night.

Before Week 8, no quarterback had thrown for more than 200 yards against the Seahawks. Caleb Williams completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, while Chicago added 126 rushing yards. Still, the Bears’ biggest surprise has been their defense, not an offense many expected to perform well.

Before the season, one projection had Chicago with the league’s worst defense. That prediction has aged poorly, thanks in large part to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and a unit that didn’t enter the year with many recognizable stars. Through eight games, the Bears rank sixth in defensive EPA per play and third in defensive success rate.

They’ve been especially strong on third down, where they lead the league in defensive EPA per play. Their third-down success rate is four percentage points better than Minnesota’s, which ranks second. Chicago has also added defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in a trade.

The Bears have a dynamic offense and, now, a defense that looks genuinely formidable. With the rest of the NFC contenders trading places from week to week, Chicago has a reasonable claim to the top spot.

The AFC is still up for grabs

The NFC picture is starting to come into focus. The AFC is another matter: after eight weeks, no team has looked dominant from every angle.

Buffalo is 6-1 and holds the top seed, but the Bills haven’t looked complete. Their play-calling became messy against a Baltimore team that had fallen to its third quarterback, and they didn’t pull away until the fourth quarter. The defense has been a bigger concern, ranking 26th in EPA per play.

Denver leads the AFC West, but its offense hasn’t looked especially threatening. Pittsburgh has a terrific running game and one of the league’s better defenses, though the passing attack still leaves something to be desired. Cincinnati’s defense recently made Tennessee’s offense look far better than expected. Kansas City, meanwhile, has been short on reliable pass-catchers, and Andy Reid has had some tough coaching matchups.

Jacksonville may be the conference’s most complete team. The Jaguars scored 42 points against Indianapolis, their third game this season with at least 34 points, and their defense ranks third in EPA per play. But the team hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2021 season, and it doesn’t have the established reputation of some of the AFC’s more familiar contenders.

Eight AFC teams have at least five wins, compared with five in the NFC. The conference race remains wide open as winter approaches.

The Ravens may need to consider a future without Lamar Jackson

Suggesting a team trade a two-time MVP is bound to be unpopular, but Baltimore might at least have to consider the possibility.

Jackson is on injured reserve with a thumb injury that could end his season. Before that, he missed three games with an ankle injury, and the Ravens went 1-2 without him. It’s the fourth time in six seasons that he has missed an extended stretch. He sat out five games in both 2021 and 2022, then missed four in 2025. With his ankle injury and current IR designation, he’ll miss at least seven games in 2026, and the total could be higher.

Unless Baltimore extends him, Jackson is scheduled to become a free agent in 2028. This season was widely viewed as a chance for the former first-round pick to show he could stay healthy and remain a dependable long-term leader. If his season is over, he’ll be 30 the next time he plays. He has reached one AFC Championship Game and hasn’t appeared in a Super Bowl.

Would the Ravens want to commit more than $60 million a year to a 30-year-old quarterback with a history of injuries? It’s hard to see why they would, though Jackson’s talent is not in question.

Baltimore could trade him next year. According to salary-cap estimates, a deal would save the team just under $10 million. Restructuring Nnamdi Madubuike’s contract could free up another $14 million, while moving on from Roquan Smith could save $20 million. Releasing Marlon Humphrey with a post-June 1 designation would also help the team get under the cap. Other contract moves, including adjustments involving Trey Hendrickson and Kyle Hamilton, could create roughly $17 million more in room.

A Jackson trade would also speed up a rebuild. He could bring back two first-round picks, giving Baltimore significant draft capital to reshape the roster and search for its next franchise quarterback. If the Ravens are picking in the top 10 in 2027, those extra selections would become especially valuable.

This isn’t to say Jackson has suddenly become a bad player. Sometimes, though, a team has to recognize that a chapter may be ending. The John Harbaugh-Jackson era produced no Super Bowl appearances, and Jackson may already be past the peak of his career. Another team with more cap space and the ability to build around him could be a better fit. Baltimore, with a new coaching staff and an aging roster, may be better off starting over.

One play that changed everything

Kansas City looked as though it would at least come away with a field goal late in its game against Denver. With 2:40 left in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs faced third-and-2 at the Broncos’ 29-yard line. Patrick Mahomes couldn’t find an open receiver, rolled right and took a sack from Alex Singleton rather than throwing the ball away.

The sack turned what would have been a 46-yard field-goal attempt into a 54-yarder for Harrison Butker, who missed. Denver took over, scored a go-ahead touchdown and moved four points in front. If Mahomes had avoided the sack, Butker might have made the shorter kick, leaving Kansas City a chance to win with a field goal at the end instead of needing a touchdown.

Buy or sell

Buy: The Bengals should trade for Jonathan Taylor

Cincinnati’s running game has been close to nonexistent. Some of that is down to the team’s reluctance to line up under center, but a back like Taylor could help as both a runner and receiver. He might make an already dangerous offense even harder to stop.

Sell: The Cleveland Browns

The Browns looked like themselves again on Sunday. Jared Verse talked throughout the week, then finished with more time on the receiving end of suplexes than tackles. Through eight games, undrafted Steelers defensive lineman Kevin Jobity has more sacks than Verse, who still hasn’t recorded one this season.

Cleveland’s offense didn’t score a touchdown, and Deshaun Watson was sacked eight times. His performance looked much more like the version of him fans have become accustomed to seeing.

Buy: The Cowboys should move on from Christian Parker

Dallas has made a long list of defensive investments over the past 15 months, trading for or drafting players including Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Quinnen Williams, Caleb Downs and Joey Porter Jr. The defense is still the worst in the league by EPA per play and has allowed the most rushing yards.

At this point, first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker appears to be in over his head. The Cowboys could make a change, give Mike Pettine the interim role and see whether he can steady things in the second half of the season.

Sell: The Minnesota Vikings

Last week, the Vikings were described as a paper tiger. That still seems about right. They failed to score 20 points against a Detroit defense ranked 31st in EPA per play, marking the fourth time this season Minnesota has fallen short of 20.

Kyler Murray is dealing with a hamstring injury, but even if he’s healthy, the Vikings might be better off sitting him. The offense looked more lively with Carson Wentz in charge. Among the 35 quarterbacks who have played at least 100 snaps, Murray ranks 26th in EPA per play and 28th in passing success rate.

Prediction to track

NFL predictions

• Steelers trade Joey Porter Jr.: Correct
• Rams beat the Broncos comfortably: Incorrect
• Lions blow out the Panthers: Incorrect
• Marvin Harrison Jr. and Brian Thomas Jr. are traded: Half correct
• Jordan Love has a big game as the Packers beat the Cowboys: Correct
• A fan runs onto the field during Steelers-Saints with a political message: Incorrect
• Jaguars beat the Colts by two scores and Shane Steichen is fired: The score prediction was correct; the coaching prediction was not

At last, one of the blowout predictions came through, so maybe that curse is over. Picking Jacksonville to win another blowout would be an easy call, especially with the Jaguars expected to face the reader at quarterback when they host Baltimore on Thursday. So here’s a more adventurous prediction, even if it’s probably unlikely.

The Jets visit Kansas City in Week 9. After losing to the Chiefs, Garrett Wilson stays in Kansas City because the Jets trade him there for a first-round pick. The Chiefs need pass-catchers, and their current options haven’t exactly inspired confidence. Kansas City takes a chance on a genuine No. 1 receiver for Patrick Mahomes as it pursues a fourth Super Bowl title.