The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped their second straight game, this one a loss to the Dallas Cowboys on their own grass. No one can say that they didn’t have plenty of chances to come out victorious in this one. Dak Prescott turned the ball over three times, the special teams unit blocked a field goal and it was far from a clean game from Mike McCarthy’s club with 11 penalties. Slow starts have now been coupled with a defense that’s struggling to get off the field on third downs.
Let’s take a look at some notable performances from a late-night thriller turned nightmare.
Dude: EDGE T.J. Watt
After an uncharacteristically quiet week four, Watt looked like his typical dominant self in this one. 1.5 sacks, a trio of hits on the quarterback and multiple pass rush wins which sped up the quarterback, this performance looked similar to what we’ve become accustomed to over the years. Before the game, head coach Mike Tomlin talked about how special he is as a player and specifically mentioned his ability to get the ball out and create turnovers. His forced fumble in the red zone took points off the board and was one of their better plays on the night.
Dud: WR George Pickens
Three catches, one of which was on the final meaningless play of the game, just isn’t going to cut it from your number one playmaker in the passing game. That alone could be hand waved as an off night but it was the manner in which things transpired which are particularly troubling. Pickens saw his snap count reduced significantly, relegated to sideline duty when the Steelers went into some of their two receiver personnel groupings. In order for Pittsburgh to be competent on offense this season, they need him to be a consistent different maker. But the vibes around this situation don’t feel great right now and are worth monitoring moving forward.
Dude: EDGE Nick Herbig
In his first career start against the Colts, Herbig wasn’t very active whatsoever. Tonight was a completely different story, however. From the jump, it seemed like he was extra juiced up, flying off the snap and into the backfield to make plays. It seemed like he was winning over and over again on the outside regardless of what Dallas was trying to do from a protection standpoint. Unfortunately, for the second straight week, he exited the game with an injury but this one seemed a little bit more on the serious side as he never returned after his hot start. With Alex Highsmith already on the shelf, the team can’t really afford another blow like this.
Dud: NCB Beanie Bishop
Before the season began, I wondered if we would get a month into the 2024 campaign and scoff at the teams decision to completely disregard the slot cornerback spot this offseason. It feels like we are trending in that direction at the very least after a second straight shaky performance from the undrafted Bishop. Once again, he was in the vicinity of a couple blown coverages, gave up a huge completion deep down the middle of the field and was flagged for a couple penalties. Cam Sutton isn’t coming back anytime soon so the coaching staff is going to have to find some answers as soon as possible.
Dude: CB Joey Porter Jr.
In coverage, Porter did some nice things tonight. It seemed like Prescott attacked other areas of the field for the most part and left #24 alone. When he took changes in his direction, the second-year cover specialist made him pay. On his interception midway through the fourth quarter, Porter was in a bail technique, stayed overtop and tracked the football wonderfully to make a great grab down the field. This would give the Steelers offense good starting field position on a drive that would end in a touchdown. I didn’t love his tackling effort tonight but he helped keep CeeDee Lamb in check.
Dud: SS DeShon Elliott
This one is tough because Elliott has exceeded expectations up to this point and then some. But he was involved in a couple crucial plays tonight in the red zone. On his first touchdown allowed, it looked like he just lost his balance and allowed his man to break free for a score. The second one occurred when he was trying to track a crosser on the goal line but a better throw ended up winning the game for Dallas. I wouldn’t classify this one as a regression to the mean signal but rather just one rough night.
Dud: Slow Starts
The slow starts have been a theme for years on the offensive side of the ball. Pittsburgh has changed out offensive coordinators, quarterbacks and a myriad of other pieces during that time frame but the problem remains as prevalent as ever. Last week, the team came out flat and dug themselves a massive hole on the road. It wasn’t quite that bad tonight but this team seems allergic to taking an early lead. If common sense didn’t tell you any different, it almost seems like they exit the tunnel pre-game with the mindset of trying to score as few points as possible to win the ball game. It doesn’t help when you’re calling run plays on second and third and short to willingly set up field goals rather than trying to punch the ball in the end zone. There’s many issues at hand here but it’s beyond time for a solution.