Steelers vs. Bengals: Winners and losers from Week 3 loss
By Andrew Falce
Steelers winner: Pat Freiermuth
While the offense as a whole looked bad, one of the lone shining spots for this team has been the rookie tight end, Pat Freiermuth. At this point, there is little questioning if he is the starter, as he has received the majority of starter snaps and has played well in that role. He continued his solid play this week against the Bengals and found a way to score.
His score truly exemplified what kind of a receiver he is, as he took a short shovel pass and muscled his way into the endzone. Freiermuth doesn’t win with amazing athleticism, but he can make the tough catch and get the tough yards. While his 22 yards receiving aren’t anything to write home about, he is quickly becoming a reliable target in this passing offense.
Based on the struggles of the other Steelers’ tight ends (more on that next), it wouldn’t be shocking to see Freiermuth continue to play more snaps. He has shown the most out of any of the other players at the position and could become one of the league’s better tight ends if he develops properly. He had another strong game and has had a great start to the season.