The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Houston Texans 30-23 Monday night at Heinz Field to move to 4-3 on the season and after two passes back through the game rewind, here is just a good sampling of some winners and losers for you to discuss. Feel free to add your own in the comments below that you think I missed.
Winners:
Antonio Brown – Is there anything that Brown can’t do? While he didn’t score a touchdown Monday night (almost), he did catch another nine passes for 90 yards. One of those catches was an amazing leaping grab on the left sideline that he pinned between his legs on the way down. Oh yeah, he also threw a touchdown pass to Lance Moore and nearly broke the ankles of a Texans defensive back in the fourth quarter with a nifty cut back.
Le’Veon Bell – Eight catches for 88 yards and 12 rushes for 57 yards. Head coach Mike Tomlin credited Bell’s third down catch from the Steelers 14 yard-line in the second quarter as the play that really started to turn the tide. Bell’s touchdown catch also put a cap on the 24 unanswered points.
Lawrence Timmons – Timmons puked and the Steelers rallied. In all seriousness, Timmons was all over the field in the game and he led the team in total tackles with 12. He also recorded the Steelers only sack in the game. Let’s also not forget that the pass that was intercepted by Brett Keisel bounced off of his helmet. That’s an assist, right?
Brett Keisel – If Keisel’s interception wasn’t enough, he consistently pushed the pocket during the game. While he only registered one tackle, he did help string out runs to his side with solid technique.
Jason Worilds – Worilds didn’t record a sack in the game but he did provide consistent pressure throughout the game. He also was credited with forcing the fumble late in the second half that led to an easy touchdown. All five of his tackles seemed to come at big moments.
Maurkice Pouncey – Pouncey was by far the Steelers best offensive lineman Monday night. His downfield blocking on the dump off pass to Bell that went for 28 yards was perfect and fun to watch.
Losers:
Cortez Allen – Allen continues to struggle as he gave up several catches Monday night with at least three going in the books as explosive plays. Maybe more. He also was flagged once and missed a few tackles in the run game boot.
Ramon Foster – Foster and Kelvin Beachum did not work well together Monday night when asked to handle stunts. I counted at least three such plays.
David DeCastro – While DeCastro improved as the game wore on, it’s hard to ignore the problems that he had early on the game when it came to his pass protection.
Sean Spence – While Spence did record six tackles in the game, he missed several more in the first half. I think I counted four in total. Two of the tackles that were credited to him came after he allowed completed passes.
Markus Wheaton – Zero catches for Wheaton on two targets. He was held on the first incompletion, but he has to do a better job of getting open and giving quarterback Ben Roethlisberger another option. Number two wide receivers can’t get shut out in a game.
