It's hard to blame just one man after the Pittsburgh Steelers' gut-wrenching 20-3 loss against the New England Patriots in Week 2. Aaron Rodgers had a performance he would love to forget, while DK Metcalf has strung together back-to-back dismal outings to start the 2026 season.
However, the offensive line problems were egregious on Sunday, and Spencer Anderson deserves a lion's share of the blame.
Early in the contest, Anderson struggled with missed assignments and was tossed like a rag doll in pass protection. These problems only escalated as the game went on. Anderson's most egregious play came when he failed to pick up a stunt. This botched play resulted in Rodgers being strip-sacked, the Patriots recovering the football, and running it back the other way for a touchdown.
Anderson, a fourth-year guard and 2023 seventh-round pick, was given the opportunity to earn a full-time starting role with the Steelers after the departure of veteran Isaac Seumalo in free agency this past offseason.
But we're just two games into the 'Spencer Anderson experiment', and we've already seen enough.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must bench Spencer Anderson ahead of Week 3
If this were a one-time thing for Anderson, perhaps you could make a defensible case that the veteran should be given another shot. However, it's not. Anderson was abysmal in the season opener against the Falcons.
In Week 1, Anderson earned a dismal 44.1 pass-blocking grade against Atlanta [$], per Pro Football Focus—the worst of any player on the Steelers' offense. This week, Anderson's mistakes proved more costly than ever. And there are zero reasons why the Steelers shouldn't make a change at right guard.
Anderson was benched late in the contest as veteran guard/center Brock Hoffman took his place. Hoffman previously entered the game briefly for a banged-up Mason McCormick at left guard.
We know Anderson needs to hit the bench in Week 3; the only question is: who should replace him at right guard?
Knowing that the Steelers are fighting tooth and nail to win football games in 2026, we can safely assume that Hoffman will be the player to take over for Anderson soon. Still Curtain contributor Andrew Falce recently made a case for Hoffman to start in Week 2. Now the Steelers should regret their decision to stick with Anderson for another painful week.
Since 2023, Hoffman has played over 500 combined offensive snaps at guard and center while doing a respectable job. He could very well get the nod against the Bengals next Sunday.
Of course, Steelers fans are going to be banging the table for Gennings Dunker to see the field as soon as possible. Dunker was Pittsburgh's third-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and he looks the part, with a thick lower body and a powerful frame to keep the pocket from caving in. Unfortunately, there are concerns about how far along Dunker is as a pass rusher early in his NFL career.
Either way, neither Hoffman nor Dunker could be worse than what we've seen in two games of Anderson at right guard. With capable depth options, the 2023 seventh-round pick was likely on a short leash, and he may just have exhausted his final shot at a starting role in Pittsburgh.
If there's one obvious change the Steelers need to make before their Week 3 home contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, it's benching Spencer Anderson... and we don't really care at this point who replaces him, as long as he's off the field.
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