The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a late rally by the Minnesota Vikings to hold on and win 24-21 in Dublin, Ireland. Week 4 featured far more positives than negatives, so this will be a Varsity-heavy edition of Winners and losers – let’s get into it:
Varsity
QB Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers had his most efficient day as a Steeler, going 18-of-22 for 200 yards and an 80-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf. The quick game was working, he protected the ball, and the Steelers had a good day on third down – a nice day for No. 8.
RB Kenneth Gainwell
Jaylen Warren
was a late scratch, which thrust Gainwell into a starting role, and he made the most of it. He had 99 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards with two touchdowns, marking the first game with multiple touchdowns of his career. We all took notice of how the Steelers were seemingly forcing touches to Gainwell, but he took advantage of his chance to shine.
WR DK Metcalf
Metcalf had five catches for 126 yards and the aforementioned 80-yard score, which made Week 4 his first 100-yard game as a Steeler. Metcalf has been the best YAC receiver in the NFL this season, which is something the Steelers have severely lacked in recent memory, and wasn’t initially seen as a strength of the big pass-catcher.
LB Patrick Queen
Queen has played like an All-Pro over the last two weeks. He had 11 tackles, three of which were for loss, and added a sack. This is the Patrick Queen the Steelers were hoping they’d get when they signed him last offseason.
LB Payton Wilson
One of the best hustle plays you’ll ever see, Wilson chased down Jordan Addison after a busted coverage left the Vikings’ star wide open. The NC State product topped 22 miles per hour to chase down Addison and make the tackle to prevent the touchdown. Minnesota scored a few plays later, but not before 61 seconds ticked off the clock. In addition, Wilson led the Steelers with 13 tackles, including two for loss.
EDGE Nick Herbig
No. 51 is undeniable. He had another 1.5 sacks to bring his streak of games with splash plays to three. He’s the second-best edge rusher on the team, and it becomes less and less debatable by the week.
EDGE T.J. Watt
Watt has gotten back to being his dominant self over the last two games. He recorded another sack and also picked off Carson Wentz to set up a touchdown that put Pittsburgh up 21-6. Another great day at the office for No. 90.
DL Keeanu Benton
It was great to see Benton have a terrific performance after a rough pair of games to begin the year. He had 1.5 sacks and an additional tackle for loss. Back in the role that best suits him, and not being lined up at nose tackle, has Benton looking like the player Pittsburgh drafted him to be.
S DeShon Elliott
Welcome back to the field, No. 25. He had an interception and also had six tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss.
Run Blocking
The Steelers had 131 yards on the ground and averaged 4.5 yards per carry. If they can consistently get this type of play from their offensive line, the ground game will remain a major strength.
Junior-Varsity
Crunch Time Coaching
Going for it on fourth down in the red zone late in the fourth quarter was the right decision, even if Mike Tomlin trotted out the field goal unit before the offense won the argument to go for the touchdown. What wasn’t the right call was running the ball from the four-yard line. A toss to Darnell Washington would have made much more sense, especially after Arthur Smith talked about wanting to get him the ball more in the red zone in the lead-up to the game. The punt on the Steelers’ final drive, though, was inexcusable. Fourth down and half a football. A first down ends the game, and instead of pounding a run with a run game that has been dominant, Mike Tomlin opted to take a delay of game and punt the ball out of the end zone. When it comes to scared coaching in big moments, no one does it quite like Mike Tomlin.
TE Pat Freiermuth
It appears the Steelers are realizing they made a mistake by giving Freiermuth a $12 million per year extension, as they only played him 15 snaps, which was fewer than Connor Heyward. He didn’t have a catch, and he also missed the block on the blocked field goal.
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