Steelers Week 18 Winners and Losers

PLAYOFFS! The Mason Rudolph-led Steelers squeaked their way into the Wild Card round following a muddy win over the Ravens, and a “meaningless” Titans win over the Jaguars. Yinzers had a lot of things break their way this week and now get another weekend of Steeler football! The Black and Gold did their job this week, but they're not the only ones, let’s look at some stand-out week 18 Winners and Losers:

Winners: 

RB Najee Harris

In a gritty, rainy game, the Steelers were heavily reliant on the run game, and Najee Harris answered the call. Naj rumbled for 112 yards and a touchdown and just wore down the defense. He becomes the first Steeler running back to have three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, which just goes to show how reliable he has been for this offense. I believe that Eddie Faulkner’s RB coach touch has greatly improved the offensive line play. The line continued to win in the trenches and allowed Najee to have back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time in his career. Great game by Naj, just when we needed him most. 

S Eric Rowe 

One of Tomlin’s best “off the couch” guys to this point has been Eric Rowe. The dude was literally out of the league a month ago and now is the best SS on the team. This week he helped seal the victory over Baltimore by forcing a fumble that was recovered by Markus Golden. When Kazee returns from his suspension, I’m not sure that he will retake his starting spot, although Rowe did unfortunately suffer a neck injury and his status is to be determined. Rowe has consistently been an impact player over the last few weeks tallying 22 solo tackles, the biggest forced fumble of the season, and an interception. Thank the football gods that Rowe decided to get off his couch for the last 3 weeks, not sure the Steelers would be here without him. 

QB Mason Rudolph

Mason continues to make the starting quarterback position an interesting one by winning his third straight game. He has been the perfect game manager over the last three weeks and Saturday against Baltimore was no different as he finished a wet game 18/20 152 yards and a perfect, game-winning touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson. Mason deserves a lot of credit for keeping the offense on schedule. I trust that on 3&5 Mason is going to make the right throw, which is a feeling I haven’t been able to have since Ben retired. Mason Rudolph may only be “Mr. Right Now,” but he has been an important part of the resurgence in Pittsburgh. 

Titans Safety Terrell Edmunds 

A familiar face played a pivotal role in helping the Steelers make it to the playoffs. Former Steeler, Terrell Edmunds, came away with one of the more absurd tip-drill interceptions I’ve ever seen, and put the Titans in a prime scoring position. The Steelers needed the Jaguars to lose in order to jump them in the standings, and what was supposed to be a meaningless game In Tennessee turned out to be the most important game that wasn’t a Steelers game this season for yinzers. Shout out to Terrell, thanks again! 

Honorable Mentions: WR Diontae Johnson, HC Mike Tomlin 

Losers

Steelers Defense

The Steelers may have won, but there was a steep cost. My Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt, left with a knee injury. Most reports are saying that it’s an MCL Sprain and it will sideline him for a couple of weeks. That is a huge loss for the Steelers' defense, which has already lost so much. Fortunately, the Steelers could do a lot worse than Markus Golden and Nick Herbig as fill-ins. The Steelers are really testing their defensive depth heading into the Wild Card round. 

RB Jaylen Warren 

It was an ugly game from Jaylen. I’ll give him a pass because the weather was terrible, but he found himself benched for Najee after some costly fumbles and bobbles. Warren has been a dynamic runner all year, but he could have easily cost the Steelers their playoff hopes with some loose ball handling. Let’s just hope when we play next, it’s not in a monsoon and I’m sure Jaylen will be ready to bounce back and contribute in the Wild Card round.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (and all those who dare tread on the Myron Cope Terrible Towel)

Let this be a lesson. Since the Jaguars players stepped on and disrespected those “tiny little towels,” they’re 3-6 and fumbled their playoff hopes. Some would say they just haven’t looked like the same team since they traveled to Pittsburgh. They are more than “tiny towels”. Leave them alone or feel their wrath. 

Not-So Honorable Mentions: Mark Madden, The Fire Mike Tomlin Crowd