The Pittsburgh Steelers went on the road and came away with a massive 28-27 win against the red-hot Washington Commanders who were also leading their respective division entering the week. Mike Tomlin has a history of success of the bye week and against rookie signal callers but this was a unit that was on fire coming into this one and the defense rose to the occasion in this one. Perhaps even more encouraging was that the offense responded to some adversity in the second half and was able to put up a good amount of points in a game where it was absolutely necessary.
Let’s talk through some dudes and duds from the game of the week.
Dude: ILB Patrick Queen
Sunday was Queen’s best game in the black and gold, full stop. He was fantastic early on in this one, with multiple tackles for loss on run plays and made a nice play in coverage over the middle of the field. Perhaps even more impressive was that he ran down Jayden Daniels to the sideline after he broke contain off the edge, an insane showcase of range. Before the game, I said that this was the matchup where you needed a guy like this and the Steelers prized free agent was just all over the field and his presence was a big reason that the defense held Washington to a season-low 242 yards.
Dud: CB Joey Porter Jr.
Pittsburgh seemed like they were trying to play Daniels how they like to play Lamar Jackson, with more man coverage looks and additional rushers up front. This type of gameplan is more suited to the things that Porter typically does well but today was a tough one for him, as star wideout Terry McLaurin got the better of him throughout the game. He picked up several penalties in the first half of this one, a couple that were really unnecessary and the result of just not trusting his technique. With his physical reputation, he’s going to have to learn to adjust quicker to how the officials are calling games.
Dude: IDL Cam Heyward
The captain continues to fend off father time. Heyward added two more sacks to his season total, bringing him to 5.5 already near the midway point of the year. He’s on this list because for my money, No. 97 made the most important play of the game that led to the win. On the final play of the third quarter, Heyward exploded off the ball and brought down Daniels in the backfield for a loss of 11. This took Washington out of field goal range as they were looking to go up two scores. The Commanders never got back to that spot of the field the rest of the way.
Dud: CB James Pierre
If the Steelers ended up losing this one, the failed fake punt would be a heavy talking point. Could the throw have been better? Absolutely. But Pierre has to haul that one with no one in the vicinity and this was clearly a check that was put in earlier in the week. The incompletion set the opposing offense up with great starting field position which led to a quick touchdown score. With Donte Jackson getting banged up in this one, Pierre was forced into action on the boundary and he had some tough moments in coverage as well.
Dude: QB Russell Wilson
Over the past several years, it felt like the Steelers had no chance to win any game that resembled a high scoring affair. Wilson was efficient once again on low volume and made some crucial plays down the stretch that led to the win. The deep ball wasn’t working early but he had a couple money throws on in-breakers, including a strike on a hi-low and a slant to George Pickens that allowed him to run after the catch. In the fourth quarter, The go-ahead score to Mike Williams right before the two minute warning was an excellent job dove tailing his drop away from the blitz and throwing a perfect moon ball off his back foot. He’s provided the explosive plays that they’ve needed to compliment their rushing attack.
Dud: Run Game Efficiency
WIth the Commanders defense coming into this one as a bottom-five unit in terms of rushing success rate, this was a matchup that looked pretty good for the Steelers on paper. But for the most part, the results were uninspiring today and while they did run for 140 yards, it took 43 carries to do so. They finished the afternoon with a lousy 32% rushing success rate and it felt like their struggles in early downs were putting them behind the chains too often. Najee Harris was never able to really get rolling. Jaylen Warren got hot in the fourth quarter but then coughed the ball up on the goal line. There should be better days ahead.
Dude: WR Mike Williams
Williams didn’t play many snaps in this one after being acquired by the team just days prior at the trade deadline buzzer but his lone catch was certainly a memorable one. With Pickens seeing so much attention shaded in his direction, the offense has been desperate for someone that can win their one on one matchup against man coverage. It’s only one play but it was definitely nice to see. In theory, his skill set should fit well with what they’re trying to do offensively right now.