Steelers-Jags: Week 8 Winners and Losers

As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. A rainy day in Pittsburgh turned into a nightmare as the Steelers not only were unable to come away with a win but suffered a few key injuries as well. The offense continued its early game struggles while the defense just tried to keep them alive. There wasn’t too much to love this week in the Steel City, but let’s take a look at some guys who deserve some recognition:

Winners

WR George Pickens

Catch or no catch, George Pickens is one of the most fun players to watch in the entire league. The Steelers need to find a way to get the ball to him more often because when he gets the ball, good things happen. He came ¾ of an inch away from an incredible sideline grab and had an incredibly athletic hurdle to score a touchdown. Get the ball to GP and good things happen. While he may not have had a great stat line, George Pickens deserves recognition for how talented he is and the spark he brings to this unit. With the current state of the offense, his stats are not going to do him justice. It’s obvious that he’s not happy with the current state of things, so this team needs to turn things around sooner rather than later if we want to see #14 play out his career in Pittsburgh.

MLB Cole Holcomb

After spending the first four years of his career on the Commanders, Cole may have found himself a forever home in Pittsburgh. Losing Minkah Fitzpatrick was going to force players to step up and Cole really did a great job of that today finishing with 11 total tackles. He has a nose for the football and always finds a way to make a play. I think the Steelers found themselves a real player in Free Agency this season. Another Kahn signing paying off.

OLB TJ Watt

I should just pencil TJ in for a winner spot every week. This week he had a crucial sack in the fourth quarter to give the offense a chance to tie the ball game. If there are two things that yinz can count on every week they are: 1. TJ will be held on every play 2. When he isn’t held he’s making game-wrecking plays. I believe he will easily be the greatest draft pick of the Colbert era and is well worth every penny of that mega $112 million dollar contract. There’s a solid argument for this man to be league MVP.

Honorable Mentions: CB Joey Porter Jr., WR Dionte Johnson, DT Larry Ogunjobi

Losers

QB Kenny Pickett

Consistency is something that I’ve been waiting to see from Kenny. He plays great in the fourth quarter but I’ve been longing to see that KP show himself in the other three quarters. He started the game off by missing a couple of throws to Dionte Johnson and George Pickens, both of which I think many yinz would expect to be completed at this point. Pickett missed a throw to Dionte Johnson for a score in the second quarter that I wish we could have had back. Kenny ended up leaving the game early due to a rib injury and likely sat out the second half due to the short week. Here’s to hoping that next time we see him, he’s the Kenny Pickett we saw in the second half of week 7. 

RB Najee Harris

Alright, it is week 8 and I for one, am tired of watching Najee Harris get so many opportunities. I get it, he was a high draft pick and he’s a top 10 human being, but 13 yards?? It is hard to get an offense going when your running back is going for 2 yards per carry. Harris still just feels hesitant to hit his holes and slow off the ball. Jaylen Warren is breathing down his neck too, really taking full advantage of his opportunities. The best thing for this offense is to relegate Najee to the bench, a tough pill to swallow but a necessity. 

OC Matt Canada

There are a lot of yinzers who are going to be pointing fingers at Matt Canada this week, but he doesn’t deserve all of the blame. This week several players let him down. Najee Harris had opportunities to get the offense going but fell well short of the mark this week. Kenny Pickett’s injury really hindered things for this offense as well. Canada had a decent game plan, the players just didn’t get it done this week. While I am usually the first to grab my pitchfork, I think there is plenty of blame to go around this week. Let your chants rest for another week. 

DC Teryl Austin

The injury bug has bitten the Steelers. They have already been playing without All-Pro DT Cam Heyward and now they will be without All-Pro Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for the foreseeable future as he exited the game with a hamstring injury. Rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. made his first start due to the absence of Levi Wallace, who was out due to a foot injury. Austin may have to look to some unfamiliar faces this week as the Steelers prepare to take on the Titans on Thursday Night. 

Not-so honorable mentions: CB James Pierre, QB Mitch Trubisky, SS Damontae Kazee