All it takes is one big win to rinse a lot of stink off of a two-game losing streak, and that’s what the Steelers did on Sunday when they defeated the No. 1 offense in the NFL.
Pittsburgh handed the Indianapolis Colts a 27-20 loss and remains two games ahead of the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North. This might be the biggest week in terms of top performers, so let’s get into it.
Varsity
EDGE Alex Highsmith
Ever since he returned from injury, I’ve said Highsmith needs to be the No. 3 guy behind T.J. Watt and Nick
Herbig. And while I still feel that way, he had arguably the best game of his career on Sunday. Highsmith had two sacks, three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. A tremendous performance from a guy who really needed one.
LB Payton Wilson
Wilson has struggled throughout most of this season, which has led to Cole Holcomb getting a larger role. But much like Highsmith, he had a huge day. Wilson picked off Daniel Jones to set up the Steelers’ go-ahead touchdown to take a lead that they would not give back. He also batted a Jones pass in the air that was picked off by Jack Sawyer and led the team with 14 tackles.
S Kyle Dugger
The Steelers acquired Dugger less than a week ago, and he played 72 snaps alongside Jalen Ramsey at safety. Considering how well he played, as well as how poor Chuck Clark and Juan Thornhill have looked through the first half of the season, Dugger has to be the guy to hold that spot for the remainder of the year.
S Jalen Ramsey
Ramsey played safety alongside Dugger, moving back from his usual spot at cornerback, and he played great. He allowed just 38 yards as the nearest defender, per Next Gen Stats, and he had five tackles. The Steelers did a good job of preventing big splash plays, and Ramsey is a big reason why. He’ll be the next name to join the likes of Ronde Barber and Rod Woodson as guys who moved from cornerback to safety and did so at a high level to elongate their careers.
EDGE T.J. Watt
This was Watt’s most impactful game of the season. With the Colts up 7-0 and driving down the field looking poised to take an early two-score lead, Watt sacked, stripped, and recovered the fumble on Daniel Jones. The Steelers drove down the field to tie the game, and the Colts wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter.
DT Cam Heyward
Heyward was constantly disrupting Jones, as well as the run game. He had three run stops, per Next Gen Stats, and had four pressures on Jones, as well as two batted passes.
CB Joey Porter Jr
Porter had by far his best game of the season. He allowed a passer rating of just 20.8 and a 40 percent completion rate when targeted with four pass deflections and a sack, for good measure. His interception was the sixth and final takeaway of the game that iced the game for Pittsburgh.
QB Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers’ yard total won’t blow anyone away (203), but he completed 25-of-35 passes and threw the go-ahead touchdown to Pat Freiermuth – his 17th touchdown pass on the season, which is third in the NFL and the most a Steelers quarterback has thrown since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
TE Pat Freiermuth
Freiermuth is back to being one of the pistons of the offense. I think pistons are the term here. I don’t know anything about cars. If you need some fun Batman: The Animated Series facts, though, I’m your guy. Anyway, Pat Freiermuth. Good for him for this nice stretch he’s had after becoming an afterthought. He had three catches and a touchdown.
WR Calvin Austin
Austin led the team in receptions and yards on Sunday, putting together a respectable five-catch, 56-yard outing. If the Steelers add a No. 2 boundary wideout to go along with DK Metcalf and Austin, their offense will greatly benefit from that.
HC Mike Tomlin
The Steelers responded very well to a horrid two games, which is where Tomlin deserves credit. The defense had a massive bounce-back, recording six takeaways and protecting the ball very well on offense. Job well done.
Junior-Varsity
WR DK Metcalf
Metcalf couldn’t gain any separation all game and finished with his worst performance as a Steeler, catching two passes for six yards.
CB Darius Slay
With all due respect to Slay, he shouldn’t see the field the rest of the season. He allowed four receptions on five targets for a passer rating of 118.8.
Running The Ball
The Steelers couldn’t run all game, totaling just 38 yards on 23 carries. That said, imagine if I told you the Steelers scored 27 points while rushing for less than 40 yards and receiving just 6 yards from DK Metcalf. Some things can be improved, but the fact that they still put up that many points while struggling in multiple facets is a great problem to have.
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- Steelers Week 9 Mailbag: Could the Steelers make a big defensive trade?
- Steelers injury report: Pat Freiermuth full participant on Thursday
