3 winners and 3 losers from Steelers 24-19 win vs. Cowboys

Winner: Minkah Fitzpatrick

While I have been very critical of Minkah Fitzpatrick and his play for the Steelers, I have to hand it to him, he had the best defensive performance of the day. While last week he came up big on the critical final play, where he made sure the pass was not completed, he pickup up where he left off this week. While neither of his turnovers were spectacular, it was good to see him make some splash plays after being held without any for so long. As well, he seems to be making better plays as a coverage player.

Arguably his best trait from this game was his tackling, as he was solid and made sure to wrap up. Considering he has had a few misses in that department so far this year, seeing him be the best tackler on the defense this week was a relief. He proved once again to be a critical piece in this defense, and had he not been there, it’s likely the Cowboys offense would have completely overpowered the Steelers defense.

That isn’t to say Fitzpatrick is playing like he was last year. To be frank, he looked like a future all-pro with the Steelers a year ago, as he made quarterbacks pay for targeting him. This year has been different, as a combination of a lack of targets and some inconsistencies have led to him having a good not great season so far. That said, his recent play has really boosted him, and his regression from 2019 seems far less drastic. His play today proved that, as he was a major key in the Steelers winning.