Four Winners, Three Losers From Steelers Victory Over Falcons
The Pittsburgh Steelers took care of business at Mercedes Benz Stadium this weekend, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 19-16 behind a strong run game, clean execution in the kicking game and clutch defense.
The Steelers have won two in a row for the first time this season and are hanging around in the playoff race for another week after starting so poorly. That's why they walk away from Week 13 with more winners than losers.
Winners
Pat Freiermuth
Quietly, Freiermuth has left a slow start behind to become one of, if not the, most reliable weapon in this Steelers offense. The targets have been inconsistent, but Freiermuth continues to make the most of everyone.
This week, he cracked 75 receiving yards for the fifth time this season and needed just three catches to do it. His 57-yard catch and run, during which he had to break tackle after tackle along the sideline, set up the only touchdown of the game for the Steelers.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick exemplifies one of the most attractive and definitive qualities of a star player - an innate ability to make plays when they matter the most. He proved that once again in the waning moments of this game against Atlanta, intercepting Marcus Mariota with 42 seconds left to ice the victory.
That is the kind of player Fitzpatrick has proven to be and as the Steelers hang around for another week on the outskirts of the playoff picture, make sure to watch what Fitzpatrick does. He always brings his best when the lights are the brightest.
Matt Wright
A 4-4 day against Atlanta bring's the Steelers' emergency placekicker's conversion rate up to 85.7% during his tenure with the team. After missing two kicks in his first game in Pittsburgh about a month ago, he's been perfect, making all ten of his kicks.
After the game, Mike Tomlin said Wright hadn't shown him anything he didn't already know during this stretch of hot kicking. This is the player they expected to have all along. They believed in him even after the rough outing against New Orleans and he's rewarded the organization's faith in him.
Najee Harris
Harris maintained the steady upward trajectory that he has been on ever since the Saints game. Over the last four games - excluding his injury-shortened appearance in the Colts game - Harris has looked like a different player.
He's running harder and with more aggression and the stats reflect it. Harris averaged a season-high 5.1 yards per carry against the Falcons, his third straight full game with a yards per rush mark north of 4.5 and a yards total of more than 85. His production was valuable but the physical toll he imposed and the stranglehold he and the offensive line put on the clock was even more key to helping the Steelers pull out a victory.
Losers
George Pickens
Pickens had a rough day against the Falcons, catching just one of his two passes for two yards. At one point in the second half, he came back to the sideline after an unsuccessful third down play and was yelling at no one in particular "Throw me the ball!". Defensive lineman Cameron Heyward had to spend a moment with him on the bench to calm him down.
It's easy to understand why Pickens was so frustrated. He's talented and two-yard games aren't the norm for a player that's so used to dominating snap after snap. But bad games happen and they can't always end in him demanding more passes. Pickens has to earn those and keep a level head when the ball isn't coming his way.
Levi Wallace
Wallace had a tough time covering Atlanta's top wideout Drake London, who caught six passes for 95 yards. Referees added insult to injury on Wallace's poorest rep of the game, when a 37-yard connection between Mariota and London was compounded by an illegal use of hands penalty on Wallace.
The Steelers have gotten good play out of their defensive backs this year, but Wallace has looked like the closest thing to a weak link within that group. With so many promising young players having already taken steps forward while the Steelers were thin in the secondary earlier in the year, Wallace's $4 million base salary for next season looks more and more like too steep a price to pay. This is one place the world's most expensive defense could look to save some money.
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