This was supposed to be the year the Pittsburgh Steelers fell off.

It was supposed to be the reckoning. Future Hall of Fame head coach Mike Tomlin—who remarkably never had a losing season in a generation at the helm in Pittsburgh—moved on to the broadcast booth, at least temporarily, and the Steelers ran it back with much of the same roster.

With quarterback Aaron Rodgers a year older, they sit at 5-2 coming off a win in London to face the Browns in a revenge spot from an earlier loss before heading into their bye week.

This team wins ugly, same as it ever was. Pittsburgh simply finds a way to make a play when it really needs to.

The franchise seems to have an annual playoff berth locked up—or at least a yearly mandate to go into Week 18 with postseason potential. There is no reason to believe this season, their first under new head coach Mike McCarthy, will be any different.

Trust me, inside team headquarters, everyone knows that merely getting into the dance to bow out meekly is not the goal. They know Tomlin’s lack of late-career playoff success was part of the reason many fans wanted to move on, even while knowing the team would always, at the very least, win more games than it lost.

That’s also why I anticipate Pittsburgh will make a move or two by the trade deadline. From what we gather, the Steelers brass understands that adding another playmaker to this offense—even after making a bold trade for DK Metcalf from Seattle—is likely in order.

The immediate connection between Rodgers and Metcalf that so many expected has yet to materialize through a season-and-a-half together. Banking on that changing as the weather turns and downfield passing becomes more difficult seems foolish.

Rodgers is completing just 58 percent of his passes to Metcalf in 21 games together, with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. While many question whether the routes Metcalf runs downfield are low-percentage, there still isn’t much outward chemistry.

“They can’t really get on the same page, can they?” said one personnel executive who has watched the Steelers closely.

Former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, a longtime NFL head coach, watched Pittsburgh’s film and summed up Metcalf’s limited route tree, which relies heavily on go routes: “Kind of a one-trick pony,” Haley observed.

You can’t run an entire passing game through him, and the tight ends would naturally get more involved with a second outside threat.

With second-round pick Germie Bernard looking like Pittsburgh’s latest draft gem—and someone who can do the most damage in the slot (“that kid has earned the quarterback’s trust,” the exec said)—adding a piece on the outside who can work crossers and the middle of the field could fortify another playoff run.

After decades of operating as a conservative front office, the Steelers are wheeler-dealers now. One scout suggested to me that someone like Chargers wideout Ladd McConkey might be the kind of target Rodgers would enjoy throwing to to help sustain drives. Brian Thomas Jr. of the Jaguars is another name to keep an eye on.

Saints Roster ‘Not Built for Short- or Long-Term Prospects’

The Saints generated some hype by finishing strong last season and taking advantage of an easy schedule, but this franchise has not turned the corner.

Quarterback Tyler Shough (in just his second season, though not young after a long college career) remains painfully erratic. The roster seems stuck in no man’s land, and decisions to retain Alvin Kamara and Cam Jordan are not paying off.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see this franchise do something it has largely avoided during Mickey Loomis’ long tenure—sell off talent.

New Orleans has kicked the can down the road forever from a contract and salary cap standpoint to avoid a deep rebuild. However, it certainly looks as though former head coach Sean Payton got out at the right time, and things are getting messy in New Orleans.

Ownership is miffed, years of bloated spending are catching up, and people around the league plugged into the Saints believe they will start shedding players following a 2-5 start.

They remain in the mix in a pedestrian NFC South, but merely chasing a 9-8 finish and hoping mediocrity wins out on tiebreakers is losing traction.

“I’m not sure that roster is built for the short term or the long term,” is how one GM, who was not bullish on the Saints, summed them up to me this summer.

He may be right. While some championed 2027 as a breakthrough season, New Orleans carries a minus-27 first-half scoring differential; they simply aren’t talented enough to overcome that deficit week after week.

Kicker Chaos Continues Around the League

A number of contending teams remain unsettled at kicker, while several recent draft picks at the position are struggling, including Green Bay rookie Trey Smack.

A smart GM is going to land veteran Joey Slye from the Titans. He has been quietly excellent on a struggling team for years, carries a modest $2 million cap hit, and is a pending free agent—making him a cheap, pure rental.

One GM suggested to me the 49ers, who always need kicking stability and maintain a good relationship with Titans coach Robert Saleh (San Francisco’s former defensive coordinator), as a logical candidate. The Rams would make sense, too.

We also continue to hear the Eagles are hopeful of straddling the line at the deadline—moving select contracts while adding pieces to help win the NFC East this season.

Around the League: Speculation Continues Between Tomlin and New York

I asked a longtime personnel executive for a hunch on a team that could surprise at the trade deadline.

He threw a dart at Seattle. GM John Schneider has exhibited a creative approach to in-season trades in the past and is anything but risk-averse. With the defense getting healthier, he is the kind of exec who likes to provide a midseason jolt to his locker room.

Meanwhile, the Jets’ inability to manage the final two minutes of a half is just the kind of fodder owner Woody Johnson needs to justify an in-season coaching change.

Frank Reich, already running the offense, is the ideal interim choice, and rumors persist that Johnson wants to position the franchise to land a big fish like Mike Tomlin in 2027.