The Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-2 after their win over the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers offense has come alive over their last three games despite several injuries to their receivers, and the production from their tight end room has been a huge part of the reason why.
Veteran tight end Pat Freiermuth caught five balls for 44 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the contest. Freiermuth has now caught four touchdown passes this season, putting him in a four-way tie with
George Kittle, Isaiah Likely, and Mike Gesicki for the most touchdown receptions among tight ends this season.
After his big game, Freiermuth was asked about how encouraging it was to see the tight end room step up with the injuries to Pittsburgh’s receivers.
“Selfishly, I think you know, me and Darnell (Washington) are the best tight end duo in the NFL,” Freiermuth said. “Anytime we can go out there and utilize our skill sets to the best of our abilities, I think we have a pretty good chance to win the game on offense.”
The Steelers tight end feels strongly about the room’s ability regardless of who is available, and it’s hard to argue with him. Fellow tight end Darnell Washington is fresh off receiving a $42 million contract extension this summer, and has continued to prove why he is worth the money with his impact blocking and the threat he provides as a red zone mismatch.
The Steelers came into the game without Michael Pittman Jr., as the receiver had been placed on short-term injured reserve earlier in the week after aggravating a foot injury he had been dealing with for several weeks. The hits kept coming to the Steelers’ receiver room, as Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek both left with injuries in the first half and did not return. The injuries have already been deemed serious enough to rule both receivers out for at least the team’s Week 6 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Wilson is reportedly set to miss at least a few more games after that.
Even with all of the injuries to their wide receivers, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy believes they can lean more into their tight ends and running backs. With one of the better tight end rooms in all of football, there is still plenty of reason to have faith in the Steelers offense moving forward. Good things have happened when the ball is in the hands of a tight end in Pittsburgh’s offense this season, so why not see how far one of the better tight end duos in the league can take you?
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