Monday night’s win marked the Pittsburgh Steelers third of the season and second in a row. Things didn’t look good from the jump but it might have been the most dominating half of football they have played all season.
Which guys stepped up and which faltered? Here are our studs and duds from the game.
Stud-WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
Smith-Schuster got his first 100-yard receiving game of the season and showed he has the talent to be a No. 1 receiver in the league. He hauled in five receptions for 103 receiving yards and one of the most athletic touchdown catches you will ever see.
Dud-TE Vance McDonald
Another game and another absence of McDonald in the offensive gameplan. McDonald caught three passes for an anemic 19 yards and the coaches seem content to make him little more than a glorified offensive lineman.
Stud-LB T.J. Watt
It is time for the league to acknowledge Watt is one of the best all-around defenders in the NFL. Watt had two more sacks on Monday bringing his season total to six on the season. But his game is so much more than just sacks. On Monday he harassed Ryan Fitzpatrick and is constantly the spark plug for the defense.
Dud-RB Trey Edmunds
After Benny Snell went down with a knee injury, James Conner carried all of the run game. Snell had five carries before his injury. Unfortunately, this led to Conner suffering a shoulder injury late in the game when the outcome was decided. This was because the Steelers seem to have no faith at all in Edmunds. If they did he’d have been out there in garbage time instead.
Stud-S Minkah Fitzpatrick
It would be easy to see Fitzpatrick with one tackle and wonder why he made this list as a stud. But when you consider he had not one but two interceptions you get it. Fitzpatrick’s impact on the secondary has been profound and you could tell he took extra effort to get the best of his old team.
Dud-DT Javon Hargrave
With Stephon Tuitt out for the season, we expected Hargrave to be the guy to step up. But even with additional snaps, Hargrave didn’t deliver. Pittsburgh did a nice job with pressure but it came from Watt, Cam Heyward and Bud Dupree while Hargrave struggled to get going.
