Best thing from the Steelers victory: Contested Catches
With all the noise surrounding the Steelers passing attack, they showed up on Monday Night Football and made a number of plays. Ben Roethlisberger finished 21-of-30 with 205 yards, two touchdowns and a critical game-winning drive going 52 yards on seven plays in 1:20.
The passing success didn’t come from Pittsburgh’s pass catchers running crispy routes to get separation, but instead, Roethlisberger was giving his guys chances and they were making a number of contested catches.
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The best evidence of that was on Pat Freiermuth‘s second touchdown of the night. Whether it was Freiermuth (who’s becoming a star), Chase Claypool, or Diontae Johnson, all three were able to go up and snag the ball with defenders hanging over them.
That’s a very promising sign for the outlook of the Steelers offense. At this point in the season, the roster is what the roster is, so if the offense is to improve, it’ll be because of guys in the locker room stepping up to play better. If Pittsburgh’s pass catchers can make contested catches like the ones on Monday a habit, the offense could be exciting the remainder of the season.