Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 29-10 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day.
WINNERS
RB Jaylen Warren
Warren was a bright spot offensively, providing burst, energy, and positive plays virtually any time he touched the football. Pittsburgh leaned on him as it minimized Najee Harris’ role and though the running game was limited by the team – yet again – playing from behind, Warren made plays as a checkdown/swing option in the pass game, too.
With the way things are trending, Harris is setting up to hit free agency and play elsewhere in 2025 with Warren going from 1B to 1A in the Steelers’ backfield.
WR George Pickens
Pickens didn’t have a monster game but his presence was felt today. He caught a 41-yard pass down the sideline in a vintage 50/50 moment, a pass that is much better than 50/50 for a guy like Pickens. In the fourth quarter, he made a great hands catch on a slant, breaking tackles and picking up a first down. Unfortunately, it was called back by a rare offsides penalty on TE Connor Heyward as the team fell apart in the end.
LB Mark Robinson
Kudos to Robinson for making another special teams splash play. His second forced fumble in the punt game the past three weeks, this loose ball unfortunately couldn’t be recovered by the Steelers just like in the Eagles game. But he’s a hard hitter with a nose for the football who has played good ball the last three weeks, also seeing action in a niche defensive package against the Baltimore Ravens.
LOSERS
CB Donte Jackson
Tough game for Jackson from the get-go. Kansas City’s speed at receiver was a concern but it wasn’t Xavier Worthy or Hollywood Brown who burned Jackson in this one. Instead, it was veteran and Pittsburgh native Justin Watson, beating Jackson down the right sideline in the first quarter for a 49-yard gain. Beat and stacked, Jackson didn’t even play good technique downfield, looking back for the ball instead of trying to get back in-phase.
Jackson had his issues the rest of the day with leverage and despite being the veteran in the secondary, he did little to resist and stack up against Patrick Mahomes.
Red-Zone Defense
Issues continue here. And that’s putting it mildly. Though the Chiefs came into the game struggling inside the 20 on the season, they had no problems moving the ball on Pittsburgh today. Quick throws in the pass game, sound downfield concepts, and the running game, Kansas City went 4-of-5 in the red zone today.
Since the bye, the Steelers can’t get stops down low and it’s a big reason for their losing streak. For a team that practices Seven Shots every day in training camp and takes pride in holding teams to field goals, it’s not getting those stops anymore.
TE Darnell Washington
Tough day for Washington, whose snatch-and-trap wasn’t working against Chiefs defenders. He was flagged for holding on RB Jaylen Warren’s would-be touchdown run, a drive that ultimately ended in a Russell Wilson interception. Later, he gave up a sack off the edge to Mike Danna, his snatch/trap again failing to knock down the defender. In his second NFL season, Washington’s enjoyed a solid year, but this wasn’t his day.
OT Dan Moore/Broderick Jones
Tackles did little to protect Russell Wilson, who was sacked a season-high five times today. Jones had his hands full with LDE George Karlaftis, beat on back-to-back plays for a sack and would-be sack had Wilson not stepped up and escaped. Moore didn’t have a better time, giving up a sack off play-action and missing a block on a running back screen that prevented a potentially good gain from Najee Harris.
Defensive Game Plan
It’s not easy facing the Chiefs in general, especially on a short week, but Steelers’ coaches had little answer for how to rattle Mahomes and company. Clearly. The best asset the Steelers had was their pass rush and Kansas City completely subdued it with their quick and RPO game.
Beyond that, communication issues again reared their ugly head, leaving TE Travis Kelce wide open for his touchdown, his first in more than a month. Outside of someone like T.J. Watt making the occasional play or the Chiefs beating themselves with penalty, the coaching staff had no answers. That falls on Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin as Pittsburgh’s defense was consistently one step behind.
