4 Winners and 3 Losers From Steelers Win Over Bengals
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers walked out of Paycor Stadium with a narrow, 23-20 win in overtime against their division rival, the Cincinnati Bengals. They did it on the strength of a suffocating defensive performance and despite lackluster play from their offense but it came at a severe cost as multiple key defenders sustained injuries.
Here are three winners and three losers from their painful victory in the season opener.
Winners
Steelers Secondary
This group got contributions from up and down the lineup in a complete domination of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. He certainly gave them some gifts but the Steelers' defensive backs made him pay for every mistake.
Ahkello Witherspoon picked off Burrow once. Minkah Fitzpatrick did too and returned his for six points. Cam Sutton broke up a Burrow to Jamar Chase connection on fourth down, with his defense backed up against their own endzone late in the fourth quarter.
If only the offense could have converted the defense's half-dozen takeaways into points, that win might have been more comfortable.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick deserves a second, distinct mention because he was the Steelers' most effective offensive weapon in addition to quarterbacking a defensive secondary that blanketed Cincinnati's talented receivers.
He led the team in tackles and scored one of the Steelers' two touchdowns on a 31-yard interception return. He was the Steelers' best player and there is no question they do not win if he is not there. Thay's $73 million well-spent.
Alex Highsmith
Highsmith had a career day against the Bengals. He finished third on the team in tackles with nine and two stops for a loss. He added three sacks and four hits on Joe Burrow for good measure. If T.J. Watt's injury is as serious as it appears, the Steelers will need more games like that from Highsmith.
Pat Friermuth
The offense was stuck in the mud and facing a dwindling clock in overtime with the score knotted at 20. They needed some big plays and in that moment, Friermuth delivered. He became the most dependable target for Mitch Trubisky, who connected with Friermuth for multiple first downs on the final, game-winning drive. Friermuth played a good game overall - accounting for 75 of the Steelers' 194 total passing yards.
Losers
Mitch Trubisky
Trubisky didn't have a hard job against the Bengals. His defense spotted him seven points and short fields with six takeaways, but the offense still could only muster 17 points in regulation. Trubisky was tentative and looked unwilling to push the ball down the field and was inaccurate when throwing beyond the sticks.
He came through in a clutch moment and orchestrated an eight-play, 45-yard drive that set up Chris Boswell's game-winning field goal, but some more aggressive, competent passing could unlock a new level of success for this team, which will clearly boast one of the best defensive units in the NFL.
George Pickens
Pickens entered this season as one of the favorites to contend for Offensive Rookie of the year but his regular season debut was underwhelming, given what was expected of him. Pickens caught just one pass for three yards, which was partially due to some poor decision-making and passing from his quarterback, but Pickens only drew three targets.
It's a long season, but Pickens is starting for a reason - the Steelers need him to play above his age and experience if hey hope to be successful and that kind of stat line will not cut it.
Steelers Defense After Losing T.J. Watt
Three players have ever won Defensive player of the Year twice in a row - Lawrence Taylor, Aaron Donald and J.J. Watt. T.J. Watt got off to a good start in pursuit of joining that elite club, recording three tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and two passes defended before exiting the game early with an apparent pec injury.
Watt will get an MRI on Monday to confirm or deny what is a devastating diagnosis, but for the time being a once-promising campaign has been derailed. The Steelers will clearly need to lean on their defense to win games this season and losing Watt would make that strategy much more difficult.
Make sure you bookmark All Steelers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
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