Steelers HC Mike McCarthy’s simple reaction to offensive struggles vs. Jets

Mike McCarthy didn’t hold back on the mistakes the Pittsburgh Steelers committed in their preseason loss to the New York Jets on Friday night.

McCarthy is preparing for the first year of his head coaching stint with the Steelers. Following past destinations with the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys, the coach looks to get Pittsburgh back to serious playoff contention.

McCarthy looks to have the Steelers ready for the 2026 campaign, which turns out to be the last for veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ career. Pittsburgh started the preseason with a 28-9 win over the Packers but took a step back with a 17-0 shutout loss to the Jets. McCarthy reflected on the loss after the game, noting the slow start and the two interceptions.

“We had the slow start there with the first group. I think the obvious statistical everybody wants to talk about is two interceptions. I think as the thing I wrote down on my notes, a few times during the game, was just the execution details. Just to use last year as last week is comparable. We were able to make big plays and had a lot of production that overcame you know a lot of our mistakes, particularly penalties,” McCarthy said.

“And we have mistakes, particularly on those two plays, that we didn’t overcome that led to both those decisions and so forth. So I think if I’m looking for one, you know one clean way to explain the production of going down from eight days ago today, just the details and the execution wasn’t as high.”

“The details and the execution just were not right.”

Mike McCarthy on the play of the QBs in the Steelers loss pic.twitter.com/e0gt3enRWx

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 22, 2026

How Mike McCarthy, Steelers performed against Jets

It was a disappointing offensive night for Mike McCarthy and the Steelers, scoring no points against the Jets.

New York got on the board with a touchdown in the first quarter before sealing the deal with scores in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh was unable to have a response, committing two interceptions in the process.

The Steelers will conclude preseason action on the road. They take on the Buffalo Bills as kickoff commences on Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. ET.

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