Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans Sunday afternoon.
Winners
Najee Harris: Credit to the running backs. At least they came to play today. Both guys ran hard and were the most physical components of Sunday’s otherwise ugly loss. Harris showed tremendous power and his 32-yard reception — blocking initially before releasing making a great grab, then somehow absorbing a hit and staying on his feet — is one of the most impressive efforts by a Steeler this year. He brought some life back to the team early in the second half.
Alex Highsmith: Pittsburgh’s pass rush did far less than expected, in part because of the Texans’ great game plan and ability to build a lead they could sit on in the second half. But Highsmith at least had two pressures on third down that created incompletions from QB C.J. Stroud. It’s not a lot but it’s something positive from this game.
Losers
Matt Canada/4th-Down Play Call: The worst of the worst. I understand hindsight is 20/20 and it’s a results-oriented business, fairly or unfairly. But his choice to pass the ball out of shotgun without play-action on fourth and 1 despite the Steelers’ run game finding its footing in the second half was just terrible. There’s no excuse for it.
To top it off, QB Kenny Pickett suffered a knee injury on the play and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. No run, no conversion, and your quarterback hurts his knee. On a bad day, it doesn’t get more embarrassing than that.
Beyond that, as if it wasn’t enough, the Steelers’ offense was flat and did nothing in the first half. Again. Some of that is on players, Pickett missed a wide-open Connor Heyward for example, but eventually, it adds up to a reflection of coaching.
Coaching: But Canada should not be the only coach who draws criticism. The entire staff failed. Houston was more prepared and better schematically, keeping the Steelers on their toes throughout the afternoon. The Texans’ zone scheme was effective in establishing a ground game for the first time all year while they were able to work out of empty, keep Pittsburgh in their base defense, and win with the passing game. Texans OC Bobby Slowik was consistently one step ahead of DC Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin all day and he effectively used the screen, run, and play-action game to slow the Steelers’ rush.
Tomlin very much lived in his fears, consistently opting to kick field goals instead of going for it on fourth down. He kicked it on fourth and 2, fourth and goal from the five, and then punted on fourth and 2 from his own 36 down 23-6 in the fourth quarter. Just total “give up” moments.
The coaches have failed to elevate any of the talent they have and have been out-schemed basically every step of the way this season, even in their victories.
Run Defense: Through their first three games, the Texans did nothing on the ground. On the first carry of Sunday’s tilt against the Steelers, RB Dameon Pierce recorded a 13-yard carry, his longest rush of the year. It was that kind of day. The Steelers are far worse against zone schemes than man schemes and could not stay in their lanes or prevent yards after contact. They allowed over 130 yards on the ground, 139 by game’s end.
Stunt pickup: The Steelers continued to have issues in pass protection. In our Texans’ scouting report, we noted their ability to run stunts and create confusion up front. They did it so effectively against the Steelers’ interior line and routinely got pressure up the middle. Watching the game live, it’s hard to pin it on one person, though center Mason Cole seemed to continue his struggles this season.
Elandon Roberts: Houston picked on Roberts the most, especially early. They used perimeter runs to avoid Roberts’ downhill ability and exposed his lack of speed on the perimeter. They also threw at him in the passing game. Roberts is far from the only negative player on defense and the overall effort and urgency was subpar, especially at the end of the first half, but Roberts’ issues stuck out the most watching the game live.
Levi Wallace/Patrick Peterson: It feels like these two are on the losers list every week. And here they are again. Peterson’s lack of speed was evident on Nico Collins’ 52-yard touchdown while Wallace did little positive in this game. Pittsburgh’s corners just aren’t doing enough this year.
