What a 24 hours it has been.
The Pittsburgh Steelers got their ninth win of the season in an upset win over the Detroit Lions, and the New England Patriots did the Steelers a solid by defeating the Baltimore Ravens to push them to the brink of elimination from playoff contention.
And, on a personal level, I turn 27 today, and former Steelers OC Todd Haley is officially my new full-time co-host on Bleav In Steelers – shameless plug, go listen to our Steelers-Lions recap when you’re done here.
Alright,
enough of that. Varsity and JV. Let’s do this.
Varsity
RB Kenneth Gainwell
If I had said that Kenneth Gainwell would be the Steelers’ MVP of 2025 back in July, you all would have thrown tomatoes at me. But the former Philadelphia Eagle has become one of the best bargains in the NFL, making just $1.79 million in 2025. He had one of the most heads-up plays of the season, making an incredible falling catch through pass interference, realizing he wasn’t touched, and getting up to run into the end zone. He led the team with five catches and 78 yards for a touchdown, and added 50 yards on the ground – he’s a legitimate Pro Bowl candidate for 2025.
RB Jaylen Warren
It’s pretty crazy that in a game that featured Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, the best running back duo on the field resided in Pittsburgh. Warren had arguably his best game as a pro, rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns – both of which were for 45 yards in the fourth quarter.
QB Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers had another really solid performance, throwing for 266 yards and a touchdown. Over his last three games, he has four touchdowns to zero interceptions, and the Steelers have scored at least 27 points in all three games.
Run Defense
The Steelers held the Lions to 15 yards on the ground. 15. Aaron Rodgers had seven more rushing yards than Jahmyr Gibbs. Superb job by the Steelers’ defense in making the Lions one-dimensional.
WR Scotty Miller
Miller entered the game with one catch on the season – he had three on one drive. One was a fourth-down conversion in which he took a big hit, and another was a toe-tap on the sideline for a third-down conversion. Great game for Miller.
WR Adam Thielen
Thielen had four catches for 49 yards, the biggest of which was a 12-yard reception on 3rd-and-11 on the final drive of the first half that ended with the Gainwell touchdown.
S Kyle Dugger
Dugger led the team with seven tackles and had the sack for a safety after Darnell Washington’s red zone fumble.
DT Keeanu Benton
Benton did a tremendous job in clogging up run lanes and also had a sack and two additional hits on Jared Goff.
Run Blocking
The Steelers ran the ball for 230 yards. This offensive line has been tremendous throughout the season, especially in recent weeks despite injuries.
OC Arthur Smith
Smith was the absolute version of Coach Kline from The Waterboy in Week 16. Multiple tosses to Jonnu Smith. Connor Heyward handing the ball to Kenneth Gainwell on a counter play when they were showing the Pittsburgh Plunge. Extra offensive linemen galore that led to multiple long rushing touchdowns. Art was in his back, and he called perhaps his best game of his Steelers tenure.
HC Mike Tomlin
Tomlin deserves a lot of credit for out-Detroiting Detroit. The Lions are usually great at running the ball – the Steelers outclassed them in that aspect. The Lions are usually the aggressive team – the Steelers had more fourth-down conversions than Detroit. I applaud Tomlin for the adjustments that have been made on both sides of the ball during this three-game win streak.
Junior-Varsity
WR DK Metcalf
Metcalf didn’t have an awful game (four catches, 42 yards), but you simply can’t put yourself in a position that he did by making contact with a fan. We’ll see what the punishment turns out to be.
Bad Penalties
The Steelers won, so it didn’t turn out to be a big deal, but they gift-wrapped 30 yards in penalties to the Lions on the final drive.
The Steelers can now have the AFC North wrapped up by the end of Saturday if the Ravens lose to the Green Bay Packers, or if they go into Cleveland and win next Sunday.
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