The Pittsburgh Steelers had all of their greatest weaknesses exposed in Week 4 on Thursday Night Football. The secondary was exploited, and Aaron Rodgers showed an utter inability to operate under pressure. The Steelers also found out why the Indianapolis Colts gave Michael Pittman Jr. away for essentially nothing.
Pittman earned four targets against the Cleveland Browns on TNF, but he managed to reel in just two receptions for 15 yards. Somehow, the film was much worse than even his pedestrian box score numbers indicated.
When I went back and watched the All-22, something stood out like a sore thumb: Pittman simply cannot separate against man coverage. This shouldn't come as a huge surprise, as it's never been his forte. However, the veteran receiver couldn't seem to gain an inch of separation.
Pittman's complete inability to create any sort of space made it hard for Rodgers to find open receivers and make plays consistently—and it's holding back the offense.
Michael Pittman Jr. has been one of the worst receivers in the NFL after the first month of the season
This won't be a popular take among many fans... unless, of course, you are talking about the ones who watch the film. Pittman—a 34th overall pick of the Colts in 2020 and a two-time 1,000-yard receiver—is currently getting by on name value alone. You know... kind of like Aaron Rodgers.
But if we can separate the name from the performer on the field, we can easily see why Pittman has been among the worst receivers in the NFL in his first four games of 2026.
Pending the rest of the Week 4 games around the league, Pittman currently ranks 70th in target share, 49th in yards after the catch, 95th in average depth of target, 97th in catch percentage, 57th in total EPA, and 107th in yards per route run among NFL receivers, per SumerSports.
In terms of raw stats through four games, Pittman has caught just seven of 12 passes (58.3 percent) for 89 yards (7.4 yards per target). Meanwhile, Rodgers has a dismal 46.9 passer rating when targeting the Steelers' starting receiver.
Worse yet, Pittman ranks 94th among 100 qualifying receivers with a dismal 50.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
The collection of nearly every advanced analytic, the raw numbers, and the film suggest that Pittman has been terrible through the first month of the season. So what's the answer?
The Pittsburgh Steelers must bench Pittman for Roman Wilson and Germie Bernard
You certainly won't hear me claiming that the Pittsburgh Steelers have excellent wide receiver options waiting in the wings to break out. But they do, objectively, have younger, fresher players who are better at separating against man coverage... and that's good enough for me.
We should mention the snap distribution, which has been a problem so far.
In Week 4 against the Browns, Pittman played 51 snaps compared to just 22 for Wilson and 28 for Bernard. This split was uncalled for, especially when considering how bad Pittman was on Thursday Night Football.
So far, Pittman is logging 51.6 snaps per game, compared to 34.5 for Wilson and 25.7 for Bernard. We need to see this snap distribution flip on its head.
When the Steelers are in 12 personnel (two wide receiver sets), Wilson should primarily see the field with Metcalf. Despite Wilson's ups and downs, he's the only Steelers receiver who has proven so far that he can consistently create separation against man coverage. In 11 personnel (three receiver sets), Bernard—not Pittman—should be on the field.
What's the worst that can happen? We find out that Bernard can't separate either? I doubt it.
At some point, Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, and the Steelers need to stop playing favorites and get their best football players on the field. Michael Pittman Jr. feels like the next in line in a long list of has-been receivers the Steelers have collected over the years, like Allen Robinson II, Van Jefferson, and Mike Williams.
We're only a month into the 2026 season, but it's already time to get him off the field.
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