Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 13-6 win against the Denver Broncos Sunday afternoon.
WINNERS
QB Justin Fields
With a full week as the Steelers’ starter, the offense opened up and Fields looked more comfortable. While the third quarter was slow, Fields made big plays overall. His best throw of the day ultimately didn’t count, a would-be 51-yard completion to George Pickens placed perfectly down the right sideline against CB Patrick Surtain II. Couldn’t hand that one any better to Pickens and it will be one of the top throws of the 2024 season.
He showed good placement on his lone TD to Darnell Washington, perfectly placed on a back-shoulder throw impossible for Denver to stop. Washington made an awesome hands catch.
Fields’ best quality was his overall accuracy, and his internal clock has sped up, taking fewer sacks and overall negativity. Procedurally, he and the offense were cleaner, too, though there was another snap he wasn’t ready for that could’ve been a disaster of a turnover.
EDGE T.J. Watt/Alex Highsmith
Pittsburgh’s EDGE rushers were again impactful. Watt and Highsmith picked up a sack apiece while Watt drew a hold in the run game and Watt had a tackle for loss. They remain the strength of a loaded defense and proved their impact again. They ended their day with colorful box scores and were responsible for a good chunk of Denver’s penalties.
SS DeShon Elliott
Simply put. DeShon Elliott is built for AFC North ball. A downhill wrecking ball, he’s a defined strong safety and an excellent fit in Pittsburgh’s defense. His biggest play came shooting a gap on a 3rd-and-1 stop, and he was also tight in coverage, forcing two incompletions, including a downfield throw on a 7-route. Two really strong games for Elliott as a key offseason addition.
CB Cory Trice Jr.
Trice with a clutch time for his first career interception. Great read and finish on the backside of a Nix throw in the back of the end zone, taking points off the board after Denver hit a 49-yard completion off a trick play. Pittsburgh’s defense was so successful in spite of injuries last season largely due to their stellar red zone play and ability to force turnovers. Trice came up large again, two plays after replacing a temporarily-injured Donte Jackson. That’s next-man-up.
C Zach Frazier
We’ll need the All-22 to confirm but looked like a strong game for Frazier. In a tougher road environment this week than last, Frazier was moving people in the run game and opened several holes for RB Najee Harris and company. Hopefully the coaches film matches but Frazier has been steady and impactful in the middle.
WR Ben Skowronek
It’s not sexy but after WR Scotty Miller did all the little things in last week’s win, Skoronek impacted special teams this week. It was all with his usual gunner work but he drew two flags and won his rep on another in the fourth quarter, helping keep the returner go lateral as Payton Wilson and Tyler Matakevich cleaned things up. He finished with a great tackle on the final punt of the game.
He saw some offensive reps in Pittsburgh’s 12 personnel that took some chances off play-action, a sign he could become a fixture on the 53-man roster next week. But he seemed to win his reps as a gunner and created hidden yardage in the form of Denver flags.
LOSERS
OT Broderick Jones
Sometimes I wonder what Steelers’ players will go on the loser’s list. If I’ll have any obvious candidates. That wasn’t an issue today. Jones was supposed to be part of a right tackle rotation with rookie Troy Fautanu, entering the game on the third series. But he was flagged three times, including wiping out a 51-yard completion to Pickens, and was yanked mid-drive.
Even beyond the penalties, Jones missed a second level block on a promising gap run and was beat around the edge on a third-and-long. It’s very possible the rotation – a terrible idea anyway – is over with Fautanu the full-time right tackle. Pittsburgh has done little to aid in Jones’ development but he isn’t exactly giving them more reasons to play him, either.
ILB Patrick Queen/CB Beanie Bishop
Queen didn’t have a great Week 1 and while it didn’t seem as sloppy this week in terms of missed tackles, he still didn’t seem at his best today. Queen seemed to overrun plays and struggle playing inside-out. He also dropped an interception on 4th down that was still a fine play and frankly, may have cost Pittsburgh a yard or two, but finishing it would’ve been nice.
Not a terrible game from Queen but I thought this one would be stronger. I don’t think I’d put the fourth down conversion allowed on him but I’ll need to check the All-22 on it.
Bishop could have similar said about his angles against the run and RPO/short pass-game. He did make a nice open-field stop on QB Bo Nix to force a fourth down but gave up a long catch-and-run to WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey late in the fourth quarter. At best, an uneven day.
CB Joey Porter Jr.
Porter’s day got off to a good start for the Steelers. But his biggest issue continues to be his biggest issue. Penalties. While his yellow gloves aren’t helping, he seriously needs to color coordinate, it doesn’t matter what’s on his hands when he’s yanking WR Courtland Sutton’s jersey to the point of nearly ripping it in half. He was flagged three times in this game, including two offsetting penalties in the fourth quarter.
Overall, it was a sloppy game for the Steelers. Penalized simply too much, allowing Denver to hang around. Pittsburgh doesn’t know how to put teams away.
Second Half Offense
Going to the above point, the positive plays the Steelers made on offense in the first half were nowhere to be found. The run game wasn’t as crisp, penalties continued to be a problem, Fields and the offense were more erratic, and the results just weren’t there.
Just three points and minimal yards for this unit. It’s been good enough to win so far but 13-18 points isn’t a long-term formula for success. Obviously.
