Aaron Rodgers Faces Bigger Role After Steelers Get Tough RB Injury Update
Rico Dowdle is out for Week 3 against the Bengals with a toe injury, leaving Pittsburgh dangerously thin at running back. With Aaron Rodgers already struggling at 30th in QBR, the Steelers' offense faces a serious test Sunday.
Through two weeks of the 2026 NFL season, Pittsburgh's offence has looked shaky at best. Now it just got shakier. Running back Rico Dowdle is officially out Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals with a toe injury, and Jaylen Warren is pushing through a shoulder problem of his own. That leaves the Steelers working with Travis Homer and Eli Heidenreich as backup options, two backs with a combined two carries on the season. For a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers already sitting 30th in QBR, losing a functional running game right before a tough road test is the last thing Pittsburgh needed.
What does Rico Dowdle's injury mean for the Steelers' offence?
Dowdle's absence was confirmed Friday ahead of Pittsburgh's Week 3 matchup against Cincinnati. Warren is expected to play through a nagging shoulder injury, but Travis Homer and Eli Heidenreich now move into the backup roles. Homer has just two carries on the season. Heidenreich has none.
That is a thin safety net. And it puts enormous pressure on an offensive structure that was already not working.
Dowdle came into the season fresh off a 1,000-yard campaign with Carolina in 2025, so there is reason to believe he can contribute when healthy. Pittsburgh needs action now, not later. This Sunday, defences know Warren is compromised and will attack accordingly. Without a credible second running back, opposing coordinators can load the box, dare Rodgers to beat them downfield, and sit on routes all game. That is not a comfortable position for a quarterback ranked 30th in QBR through two games.
The deeper concern here is pass protection. Homer and Heidenreich are both question marks in that department, and Rodgers was already absorbing big hits last week in New England. Add an unproven backup at running back who cannot reliably pick up a blitzer, and the pocket could get uncomfortable quickly against a Bengals defence that is coming off a dominant Week 2 performance.
How has Aaron Rodgers looked through two weeks of the 2026 season?
The short answer: not good. Rodgers ranks 30th in the league in QBR, ahead of only Justin Herbert among qualified starters. Against New England last week, he completed 23 of 39 passes for just 187 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception. The 39 attempts alone tell you the run game was not pulling any weight.
DK Metcalf has had several key drops this season, and Pat Freiermuth currently leads Pittsburgh in receiving yards with just 78 through two games. That is your tight end leading the team in targets. Something is off all across the board.
The Bengals just held the Houston Texans to almost nothing on the ground in Week 2, with C.J. Stroud finishing as Houston's leading rusher at 29 yards. Now Pittsburgh goes in there with a hurt lead back, two backup running backs with a combined two carries, and a quarterback who is not showing the ability to carry an offence on his own right now.
Rodgers has been through difficult stretches before. But at 42, with a thin supporting cast and no run game behind him, Sunday is going to demand more than Pittsburgh's offence has shown it is capable of giving.