The Pittsburgh Steelers gave a brilliant team effort vs the Saints, but you might be surprised to see who cracked the top-five-best overall grades this week.
I wasn’t surprised that the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to emerge victorious against the New Orleans Saints in Week 10. In fact, in my betting preview vs Saints, I predicted a win for Mike Tomlin’s team. The writing was on the walls this past Sunday, as New Orleans has been decimated by injuries and were without a handful of quality starters.
However, I was surprised a bit surprised to see how Pittsburgh’s top performers graded out. As usual, I rewatched the Steelers vs Saints game on Monday morning and took notes. Even after doing so, some of these grades are a bit surprising.
According to Pro Football Focus, Pittsburgh’s top performers in Week 10 were Alex Highsmith, Cameron Heyward, Dan Moore, Mason Cole, and Damontae Kazee:
Highest graded Steelers in Week 10 win vs Saints:
— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) November 14, 2022
🥇 Alex Highsmith - 91.4
🥈 Cameron Heyward - 89.9
🥉 Dan Moore Jr. - 88.3
4️⃣ Mason Cole - 78.5
5️⃣ Damontae Kazee - 76.0 pic.twitter.com/XknzLZipc8
If you watched the game, you shouldn’t be surprised to see Highsmtih top this list, as the third-year edge defender was all over the field and was excellent as a pass rusher. Additionally, we can pretty much expect that Heyward is going to be one of the top performers each week. However, I was a bit surprised by the next few names on this list.
Dan Moore was involved in giving up a sack early in the game, though after rewatching, the blame could be attributed to Kevin Dotson for not rotating over on the stunt. This game was somewhat out of the blue for Moore, as he has consistently graded out as one of the worst offensive players on the Steelers this year. This overall grade of 88.3 against the Saints was a step in the right direction. It helped that he didn’t have to face former first-round pick, Marcus Davenport, this past Sunday.
Likewise, I didn’t notice a lot from Mason Cole either positively or negatively, but he graded out as the fourth-best player on the team this week. Damontae Kazee had a big personal foul penalty but came away with an interception in the second half.
Steelers who should be recognized vs Saints
Though he didn’t crack the top five this week, T.J. Watt deserves a round of applause for his performance against New Orleans. In his first game back since Week 1, Watt proved to be disruptive at and behind the line of scrimmage. The attention he drew in this game paved the way for others to have huge performances.
Likewise, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren both deserve a pat on the back for their Week 10 performances. Najee rushed for 99 yards on 20 carries (including a big 36-yard run), while Warren was excellent as a receiver — earning 40 receiving yards on just 3 targets.
This was a collective team effort that included outstanding defensive play and an overall strong performance from the offensive line. The Steelers OL helped pave the way for 217 rushing yards on 5.0 yards per attempt and a pair of scores.