Pittsburgh Steelers: Studs and duds vs. Cardinals in Week 14
By Samuel Teets
Despite a disastrous fake punt play, the Pittsburgh Steelers survived the duel in the desert and advanced to 8-5.
Still missing James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to the desert to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14. While the game was always close, the Steelers held the lead for the full 60 minutes to win, 23-17. Pittsburgh retains the sixth seed in the AFC for another week.
The Steelers cannot give an inch in the coming weeks. The Tennessee Titans are also 8-5, and they are hungry for the No. 6 seed. There’s a chance the Titans overtake the 8-5 Houston Texans for the AFC South division title, but that still means Pittsburgh is battling with a team for the final playoff spot. Houston and Tennessee face each other twice in the final three weeks of the season.
However, those are concerns for the future. For now, let’s celebrate Pittsburgh’s third consecutive win with some positivity and fair criticism. Here are the team’s studs and duds from a thrilling victory out West.
Stud: T.J. Watt, OLB
Early in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were back in the red zone and threatening Pittsburgh’s 20-10 lead. On fourth-and-2 from the 6-yard line, Kyler Murray rolled out to the right and threw a pass to the end zone. Instead of finding the welcoming arms of a wide receiver, Watt got his second interception of the season.
Watt was not one of the four Steelers who recorded sacks against the Cardinals. It was the first game since Week 3 that Watt did not record at least half a sack. He has 12.5 sacks this season, which ranked among the top five entering Week 14.
Watt did register a quarterback hit against Murray, but he spent most of the afternoon chasing the athletic rookie. Watt does deserve credit for driving Murray out of the pocket throughout the game.
Dud: Broken punt play
After a touchdown-saving interception by T.J. Watt, the Steelers ran one of the most boneheaded plays we’ve seen this season. It’s unclear what the real play call was, but that doesn’t even matter.
On fourth down, Jordan Berry took the snap and instead of punting, he pulled the ball down to run. He had plenty of space to get the punt away too. He didn’t have to run. With his offensive line already running downfield, Berry took on several Chiefs, lost eight yards, and fumbled the ball.
Arizona recovered the ball on Pittsburgh’s 32-yard line. A few plays later, Murray lofted a 24-yard touchdown pass over Terrell Edmunds to David Johnson. Pittsburgh’s lead dropped to three points.