The Steelers found a way to win in a desperate game, and here are the teams’ winners and losers from Week 17.
In what will likely be Ben Roethlisberger’s final home game of his career, the Steelers rallied behind a furious pass rush and a solid running game. Not everything was great for the squad, but the end result was a win.
Through the good and the bad, this team still finds a glimmer of hope for the playoffs heading into the final week of the season. Here are the winners and losers from the Steelers Week 17 win over the Browns:
Steelers winner: Dan Moore
While the Steelers’ offensive line has had plenty of issues this season, Dan Moore is quickly becoming a bright spot on this line. An inconsistent start to the year led him on a lot of fans’ dislike lists. Since about halfway through the season though, Moore has really stepped up and has become a consistent presence as the teams left tackle. There should be hope for him going forward as the team’s starting left tackle.
While he didn’t completely eliminate Myles Garrett from the field, he was good at limiting his impact while on the field. That is no easy task, as Garrett is an elite talent and used to give Alejandro Villanueva fits when he was the starter.
Considering the steps he has taken in the latter half of the season, Moore should be penciled in as the left tackle next year. He has stepped up in a major way and this week’s performance was further evidence of that.
Steelers loser: Diontae Johnson
It has been a tough couple of weeks for Diontae Johnson, as the Steelers’ number one receiver has lacked the impact that he had earlier in the season. Even though he scored early in the game, it was another regression game for the receiver. He seemed off from early in the game, and while he still had his usual target share and catches, he never really made a big impact.
One of the worst aspects of his game this week was his hands. He had made huge strides this year early in the season. He had a few drops early in the game, and he never really seemed to gain that confidence back after the early drops. After all of the improvements that he has made this season, it has been hard to see him regress in recent weeks.
On top of all of this, he never made a huge play after the catch. Considering one of Johnson’s best strengths is his ability to make guys miss with the ball in his hands, to see him have such a lowly average is concerning. It was a lackluster week despite the touchdown for Johnson. Hopefully, he rebounds in the team’s finale.
Steelers winner: T.J. Watt
It is no secret that T.J. Watt is the best edge defender in the NFL and arguably the best defensive player in the entire league right now. Even though his matchup against rookie tackle James Hudson was a relatively easy one, Watt was still his usual dynamic self. He was getting pressure consistently off the edge and was a huge reason for the team’s defensive success tonight.
At this point, it is hard to argue that Watt shouldn’t be the Defensive Player of the Year. Despite missing some significant time due to injuries, he is still leading the league in sacks and could very well break that record by year’s end. While a player like Trevon Diggs has the flashy interception numbers, Watt has been elite in every aspect of his play.
That continued once again against the Browns this week. He was his usual dominant self and once again should be the focal point of this defense. Even if Watt doesn’t break the sack record, he has to be commended this season.
Despite playing injured Watt has been a dominant force. He is well worth the mega-contract he signed this offseason, and he gives the team hope even though a rebuild is imminent.
Steelers loser: Joe Haden
While all of the talk was about Roethlisberger playing his final game at Heinz Field, another veteran was also likely playing his last home game. While Joe Haden will likely not retire after this season, he isn’t likely to be brought back as a pending free agent. Unfortunately, he had one of his worst performances this week.
In addition to getting blown away in coverage constantly, he failed to make a big impact. The Browns touchdown was evidence of this. While he had ok position on David Njoku, he failed to contest the catch and as a result, Cleveland scored. Later, he had a tough pass interference call that moved the chains forward for the Browns.
It wasn’t a disaster of a performance for the veteran, but it was far from his best game as a Steelers player. With this game being his final at Heinz, it would have been nice to see him go out with a better final stat line. Instead, it was a mediocre day. The defense as a whole played well, but Haden was one of the lesser producers on the day.
Steelers winner: Najee Harris
Najee Harris has taken on a lot of scrutiny this season. While he has received a huge number of touches, he hasn’t produced a successful number of yards and his efficiency is lacking. This game was a different story, as he was constantly running hard and quickly running through the holes that the offensive line opened for him. It was a great game for the rookie.
While he has had more total yards in previous games, Harris was a key player in the offensive success. With the passing offense not living up to any expectations this week, Harris was key in moving the ball on every play. Especially in the second half, the Steelers were constantly moving forward with Harris grinding out some tough yards. He capped it all off with a great touchdown run to seal the game.
While Harris won’t win any awards this season, he can hold his head high for this performance. This was the type of game that Harris was drafted for. He took over the game this week and was dominant with the ball in his hands. While his rookie season hasn’t been as good as many hoped, this game provides some hope that the Harris can become an elite running back for this team.
In what was the last ride for the Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback, it turned into a much-needed win. The offense was lacking a bit, but the defense and pass rush led the way for the team. All eyes will now be on the Steelers and the Jaguars next week as both will need to win to get Pittsburgh to the playoffs.