Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-16 win against the Tennessee Titans in Thursday night’s Week Nine game.
WINNERS
Keeanu Benton – The kids are alright. Benton looks to be the next stud on the Steelers’ defensive line. A fluid pass rusher with good hips, he’s a high-effort dude who gets interior pressure. We don’t yet have exact snap counts, but it seems like he played a healthy number of snaps despite Cam Heyward’s return, which was good to see.
Cam Heyward – Welcome back, Cam. Heyward had a strong return after missing since Week One due to a groin injury. He shed blockers in the run game and chased the ball in typical Heyward fashion. Looked healthy and itching to hit someone.
T.J. Watt & Alex Highsmith – It helps that the Titans had nearly all their linemen hurt at one point or another tonight, but Watt and Highsmith were in QB Will Levis’ face throughout. Levis made plays in the face of pressure, credit to him, but those guys were winning the edge. They drew penalties and filled up the stat sheet. Combined, 7 QB hits and 3 sacks.
Pressley Harvin III – A really nice night for Harvin, going toe-to-toe with the Titans’ great punter. A 50-yard average on four punts with three inside the 20. That’s a good day at the office. Kudos.
Jaylen Warren /Najee Harris – A big ball of energy that is Jaylen Warren with some tough running by Najee Harris, the Steelers ran the ball far better than they did against Jacksonville. And better than I thought they would against a good Titans front.
The run game was consistent throughout and Warren came alive with a 23-yard burst to the edge to the Titans’ 1, turning a blown-up run into an explosive play. Harris had the longest run of the season with a 25-yard gallop up the middle.
Diontae Johnson – Congrats to Johnson for his first touchdown since the 2021 season. Johnson ran a great route on a solid design for the score and made up for a drop he had a few plays earlier. Johnson also kept the drive alive with a 32-yard snag along the right sideline on 3rd and 6, a great ball from Kenny “I Love The 4th Quarter” Pickett. It wasn’t a perfect game but a solid one, and he made plays the Steelers needed late in the game.
Broderick Jones – A really strong performance for Jones, making his second NFL start and first one at right tackle. It’s not clear why the team didn’t start Chukwuma Okorafor, if there was an injury/illness or for his performance (he practiced during the week and was active) but Jones looked comfortable sealing the edge in pass protection. He pulled multiple times on dart schemes to help open running lanes and got out in space on receiver screens. The only blemish was a penalty after the extra point to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Kwon Alexander – A game-sealing interception gets you on the list. Great hops and finish by Alexander on the goal line.
LOSERS
George Pickens – It’s not the stat line he wanted to put up. Five targets, two receptions, negative one yard. You and I had more yards than Pickens tonight. That’s not all his fault but he could’ve and should’ve had a touchdown on a pretty ball from Pickens along the right sideline of the end zone. With plenty of room to get both feet down, Pickens failed to get his left foot inbounds, and what looked to be a great throw and catch turned to an incompletion and field goal.
Secondary/Communication – The Steelers’ secondary just isn’t good. And without Minkah Fitzpatrick and the loss of LB Cole Holcomb to an ugly-looking knee injury, the team’s top two tacklers and communicators were out of the lineup. It showed. Pittsburgh had to simplify its game plan and Will Levis found success against its zone coverage. The Steelers also busted coverages and let guys run free. Patrick Peterson continues to show his age and had trouble stopping backup WR Kyle Phillips, who came into the game with only four catches. It’s an injured and busted group that needs athletes added this offseason. Pittsburgh was especially bad in zone coverage tonight.
Calvin Austin III – A “soft” loser who didn’t have an egregiously bad game. His one target – which was underthrown, to be clear – was catchable but Austin lacks any semblance of a catch radius. I also questioned the two punts he fielded inside his own 10. His game is just limited to a little bit of receiver runs and straight-line speed.
Penalties – While some penalties were questionable, Pittsburgh was flagged far too often in this game. It’s margin for error this team simply does not have. Whether it was ineligible men downfield on busted RPOs, 12 men in the huddle on 3rd and goal where Pittsburgh settled for a field goal, or Peterson and others’ penalties defensively hurt this team. Even the penalty on Broderick Jones on the extra point after Johnson’s touchdown gave the Titans great field position, though they would turn it over on downs. And then Joey Porter Jr.’s holding on fourth down that would’ve otherwise ended the game, even if it felt questionable.
Chukwuma Okorafor – I usually focus these lists on in-game results but Okorafor was seemingly benched in this one. He did enter the game late as a 6th offensive linemanm but Broderick Jones has passed him by and I don’t know if there’s a plan to give him his spot back. Okorafor appears to be in his last season with the team with a roster bonus due in March. While not having a horrible year, presumably, the Steelers wanted a better run blocker in Jones. Okorafor is below average in that area.
