Writers pick: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Francisco 49ers

Steelers are going into week 3 winless, without their franchise quarterback. Here are the Still Curtain writer’s thoughts on if these factors will result in a win or loss.

Following last weeks heart wrenching loss against the Seattle Seahawks, the Pittsburgh Steelers also were also informed that they would be without franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the remainder of the season of the 2019 NFL season.

Most people have already written off this 0-2 team. However, the Steelers season is far from over. Mason Rudolph played a phenomenal game in relief of Roethlisberger, who left the game in the first half of play. I feel confident in Rudolph leading this team the rest of the season, and the front office seems confident in his ability as well.

Steelers secondary shake-up

This past week, the Steelers traded their 2020 first round selection for defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. The former eleventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft out of Alabama, will provide much needed help in Pittsburgh’s secondary.

With Sean Davis out for an extended period of time, look for Fitzpatrick to play free safety until his return. After that, I honestly am not sure who will be the odd man out, and where Minkah will start. The thing about Fitzpatrick that really separates him from other defensive backs in the league is his versatility to play any position in the secondary.

Even though Fitzpatrick has had limited time to learn the Steelers defensive playbook, he should be on the field for a fair amount of snaps. It will not be surprising in the least if Minkah comes away with a take away his first game of the season with Pittsburgh, because he’s an instant impact kind of player.