Steelers winners and losers in Week 6 win vs. Chargers

The Steelers traveled to Los Angeles to face the Chargers. Here are their winners and losers from Pittsburgh’s Week 6 matchup.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a very rough start to the 2019 season. They lost their last three contests by an average of 3 points per game, and they have been at the center of misfortune with injuries to first-string quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and second-string quarterback Mason Rudolph.

Fortunately, things went a little bit better for them tonight. After a 1-4 start to the season, the Steelers finally show some signs of life in their 2nd win of the season. Here are Pittsburgh’s winners and losers from the game:

Winners:

Devin Bush

Devin Bush didn’t exactly set the world on fire during his first few games, but the 10th overall pick has really exploded in recent weeks. Bush had an amazing first half that included a fumble recovery for a touchdown and an interception off a tipped pass. Bush had a scary moment, though, when he went down with an injury.

Stephon Tuitt

Tuitt was having another excellent game before exiting the contest with a pectoral injury. Though he recorded just one quarterback hit and didn’t make much of a mark on the stat sheet, he was getting consistent pressure on Philip Rivers. Tuitt is having a fantastic season. Let’s hope his injury isn’t serious.

T.J. Watt

All T.J. Watt has done this year is proving that he is an elite football player. Watt is unblockable in one-on-one situations and is constantly harassing the quarterback and shutting down the run. Watt is perhaps the single most valuable player on the Steelers at this point in time. He had another fantastic day against the Chargers.

James Conner

It wasn’t easy sledding on the ground for Conner against the Chargers (which is what we have come accustomed to this season). However, he fought for tough yardage and picked up key first downs. He was also a force in the passing game – leading all receivers with 7 receptions for 78 yards on 7 targets.

Devlin Hodges

Devlin “Duck” Hodges did what many experts did not believe he would be able to do: Defeat the Los Angeles Chargers on the west coast. Hodges wasn’t asked to do a lot in this game (thanks in large part to an excellent defensive performance), but he did exactly what he needed to do to get the job done. It will be interesting to see if he gets another shot next week.

Benny Snell

Snell was promoted to the number two running back for the Steelers this week with Jaylen Samuels out of the lineup, and he did not disappoint. Snell never averaged more than 2.0 yards per carry in each of his last three contests, but he had his best showing of NFL career against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football. He gathered 75 yards on 17 carries.

Offensive line

The offensive line hasn’t exactly been fantastic in terms of paving the way for the rushing attack. However, they created excellent protection for Devlin Hodges on Sunday night. This unit was ranked 1st in pass protection this season before week 6, according to Football Outsiders.

Losers:

Artie Burns

Former 1st round pick, Artie Burns filled in for the injured Steven Nelson on Sunday night against the Chargers. I wrote an article recently talking about how he would have the opportunity to redeem himself after a poor 2018. However, that wasn’t the case. Burns was the lone weak spot on an otherwise excellent Steelers defense. He didn’t do a lot to elevate his status.

There wasn’t a lot for Steelers fans to complain about this week. Pittsburgh easily defeated the Chargers on the road with their 3rd string quarterback. Though Los Angeles faught back late in the game, the Steelers controlled the momentum from the start. Let’s hope they carry the momentum from this win into next week against the Dolphins.