The Steelers defeated the Cardinals by a final score of 23-17. Here are Pittsburgh’s winners and losers from their west coast victory.
The Steelers didn’t get out to a sluggish start in this one. After an early field goal and a terrific 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter, Pittsburgh held a 10-0 lead.
However, Mike Tomlin’s team didn’t exactly cruise to victory on the road this week. While the Cardinals technically never had the lead in this one, they came very close at times and were aided by some head-scratching calls from the Steelers coaching staff.
Still, it was another strong performance highlighted yet again by a stellar Pittsburgh defense. Here are my winners and losers from the Steelers 23-17 victory against the Arizona Cardinals.
Winners:
Bud Dupree
Bud Dupree has been stepping up his game just about every week this year. From the start of the Cardinals game, he was off like a rocket – collecting 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, and a sack in the first half. Dupree is having a career year and is turning out to be an excellent complement to Defensive Player of the Year candidate, T.J. Watt. He could see a big payday this offseason.
Diontae Johnson
Diontae Johnson had a rough game against the Browns last week – catching just 1 of 5 targets for 14 yards. However, he got off to a brilliant start against the Cardinals on Sunday – catching 6 of 8 targets for 60 yards and a touchdown. The highlight of Johnson’s performance was an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first half that gave Pittsburgh a 10-0 lead to open the game.
Winners:
Joe Haden
Joe Haden didn’t do much in the first half of the game, but he made a crucial second-half interception when Arizona was about to put up points. Haden may not be the most consistent corner on the team, but his ball skills are fantastic.
Kerrith Whyte
The Steelers offense wasn’t exactly electrifying against Arizona, but Kerrith Whyte is turning out to be an excellent find by Pittsburgh. The former 7th round running back drafted by Chicago offers speed and shiftiness that Benny Snell and James Conner lack.
T.J. Watt
T.J. Watt came dangerously close to stripping the ball from quarterback Kyler Murray on several occasions. While the pressure was there all game, Watt managed just 1 tackle heading into the fourth quarter. However, it’s hard to keep a great player down. Kingsbury decided to go for it on 4th and 2, but Watt came away with a massive interception in the endzone.
Devlin Hodges
Duck Hodges may have only thrown the ball 19 times for a total of 152 yards, but the young quarterback did what was asked of him. He managed the game well – throwing for 8.0 yards per attempt, completing 84 percent of his passes, and earning a 117.5 passer rating. He also didn’t get credited with statistics for a few pass interference calls while throwing down the field.
Losers:
Mike Tomlin
I can’t get over the awful decision to run a fake punt in that particular situation in the 4th quarter. The Steelers were up 10 points with just 8 minutes left in the game. Tomlin may be a candidate for coach of the year, but that is a terrible decision no matter how you slice it.
Benny Snell
A huge first-half fumble by Benny Snell gave the Cardinals excellent field position and resulted in 3 points for their opponents. The rookie running back collected just 15 yards in the first half and failed to pick up any significant gains. Snell had some tough sledding all game, but he wasn’t nearly as efficient as Whyte – averaging a mere 2.6 yards per rushing attempt.
2nd quarter Keith Butler
Though Butler’s defense had a brilliant start against Arizona on Sunday, he showed to have very little answer for Kliff Kingsbury’s no-huddle offense in the second quarter. However, Bulter called a good game in the second half. Not much to complain about, just nitpicking.
The Steelers took care of business on the road this week thanks to spectacular defensive performances and a massive game from rookie Diontae Johnson. Let’s hope they build on this momentum as they host the 9-4 Buffalo Bills next week.