Here are the winners and the losers from the Steelers week nine win vs. the Cowboys
While the Steelers found a way to win this week, it certainly was the ugliest outing they have had all year. Both the offense and defense struggled to make much of an impact all game, and it nearly resulted in a pitiful Cowboys team handing the Steelers their first loss. Had this game gone like it looked like it would, the Steelers would be sitting at 7-1 and looking like a big pretender in a tight AFC North race.
The offense never really got it going until late in the game. On the other side of things, a defense that has played like one of the better units in the NFL looked like a dumpster fire against a banged-up Cowboys offense. Worse yet, special teams, a unit that has played surprisingly well this season, was miserable in almost every facet. There was no individual unit that played well this game, and it nearly caused the Steelers to lose their first game of the season.
That said, there were some individual performances that stood out this game, but the overall grades weren’t pretty. The Steelers need to get their overall game fixed before they face a more legitimate team as it will end in a loss if the Steelers play like this consistently. While some issues are fixable, it doesn’t mean that the struggles are any less concerning. Are the Steelers guaranteed to lose the rest of this season? Obviously not, but this game against the Cowboys was certainly concerning.
With all of that said, here are the three winners and three losers from the Steelers 24-19 win over the Cowboys.
Loser: Special Teams
Starting off with the losers (of which, there could be plenty), the Steelers’ special teams’ performance was pitiful. Looking first at the kicking unit, the group wasn’t inherently horrible, but the late game kickoff return for the Cowboys that nearly went to the house was an issue. That wasn’t the only unit that struggled though, as the punt coverage unit was a mess as well. While the Cowboys did employ some trickery on their big return, it was inexcusable that the unit would be in such a bad position to make a play.
Yes, the coverage units were a weak point, but the kicking game itself was also an issue. Chris Boswell missed an early extra point that set the Steelers back. Later on, the Cowboys blocked a crucial extra point attempt. While that was less on the Steelers as a whole, and the block itself may have been illegal, but it was still a weak show as a whole from this unit. Likewise, it limited points, which thankfully weren’t needed this week, but could have been worse for the Steelers had it gone the other way.
Lastly, the return game was nothing special. While the Steelers have struggled in this regard in recent years, this year appeared to be different. Ray-Ray McCloud has provided a lot of spark for this group, but he struggled to do much in his limited opportunities today. That, mixed in with the struggles elsewhere, led to this unit landing on the losers list.
Winner: Ben Roethlisberger
I’m not going to lie, I struggled to put Ben Roethlisberger on the winner’s list. Yes, his end of the game stat line looked good. Over 300 passing yards and a trio of scores looks really solid, but his game tape tells a different tale. While he looked accomplished as a middle to short-range passing quarterback, his long ball has continued to be an issue.
Every time Roethlisberger winds up to throw the ball deep, it seems like the ball is way off the mark. Besides that, though, Roethlisberger was sharp short. Without him, the Steelers would have easily lost on Sunday. His game wasn’t perfect, but it was more than enough to get the win at the end of the day. He did just enough and avoided mistakes to guide the Steelers to the win.
Is Roethlisberger playing the best football of his career? No, but he is doing more than enough to win games (as evident by the 8-0 record). The Steelers need to maximize what Roethlisberger is doing well and play complete games in order to get over that. The Steelers don’t need to put up 40 points a game, but they need to do enough as a team to maximize Roethlisberger. If the game constantly falls onto Roethlisberger throwing the ball, it will likely lead to more losses than wins.
Losers: The Coaches
Arguably the Steelers’ weakest point on Sunday was their coaching. On defense, the Steelers had linebackers covering receivers and zone instead of man coverage. This led to constant struggles on defense despite playing an offense led by Garrett Gilbert. What had been the Steelers’ strength almost turned into a loss, as the unit as a whole struggled in every facet.
Worse yet were the calls on the offense. The Steelers abandoned the run far too early in the game. Yes, they went down early on the scoreboard, but that doesn’t mean that as a team you can just abandon the run like that and become one-sided on offense. Considering how bad the Dallas defense had been against the run, giving up and becoming a passing only team could have been far more disastrous than it turned out to be.
The absolute worst coaching call had to be opting to go for it on fourth down despite being well within the range of a field goal. While the special teams’ unit had been suspect to that point, opting to not attempt the chip shot field goal and go up by eight points is a silly mistake and one that nearly cost the Steelers the game. You need to keep the faith in your kicker, especially when he nailed a 59-yard field goal earlier. Overall, the play calling and decisions made in this game were crucial in it coming down to the wire.
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.
Losers: The Defense
While I was optimistic about the Steelers ahead of this bout, there were a fair amount of concerns as well. This seemed like a prototypical trap game for the Steelers, as the team was riding high off of a crucial divisional win and the Cowboys offense was banged up. Considering the pressure rate of this defense combined with their run-stopping ability mixed in with the Cowboys offensive line being as thin as it was, this was a game where the defense should have dominated.
Instead, the Steelers defense gave up 250 yards passing and over 100 total running. They had little answers for Gilbert, who made sharp passes every now and again which shredded the Steelers. They benefited from his relatively often bad pass, but they can’t expect to win games while their defense looks like that. As well, the Cowboys were surprisingly successful against the run. Considering the Steelers’ strongest suit on defense was stopping the run, to see Tony Pollard burst through holes was a disappointment.
As a whole, this group disappointed. The pass rush wasn’t what it should have been, the run defense was gashed, and the passing defense was shredded. Despite the turnovers, this unit was on the ropes from the moment the game started. Had those turnovers not gone the Steelers way, we would easily be having a different discussion this morning. The defense all around was bad, and it will have to be fixed before the Steelers play the Bengals next week.
Winner: JuJu Smith-Schuster
While statistically it may not be the best of the season due to him only scoring once, JuJu Smith-Schuster had his best game of 2020. Every time he caught the ball, he turned into a physical wrecking ball instead of a receiver, making it hard for him to go down and moving the chains in critical situations. Six receptions for 93 yards aren’t top-level production, but it was more than enough to be reminded of just what Smith-Schuster can offer as a receiver.
While Smith-Schuster has been focal about his happiness for switching to that more traditional Hines Ward like receiver, it was good to see it actually happen. While he isn’t making the big plays as we have seen in the past, the deep ball is also struggling due to the limitations of Roethlisberger so far. Smith-Schuster’s style of play is perfect right now, as he can be target anytime and use his size to pick up more yardage.
While his numbers don’t scream “pay me starter money”, it will certainly be hard to let him go in the offseason. Despite the number of free agents and likely cap issues, the Steelers will face in 2021, the team needs to try and bring Smith-Schuster back if the price is right. His stats haven’t been gaudy all season, but he has been the consummate “team first” player, and his gritty receiving style is working in this offense.
While this win felt more like a loss, it has still allowed the Steelers to move into uncharted territory as a franchise, as they are off to the best start in the history of the team. Unfortunately, the losers encompass a large portion of the team, and those issues will need to be fixed. Thankfully, the Steelers did just enough with their winners to improve the team’s record to 8-0.