Pittsburgh Steelers: Studs and duds vs. Jets in Week 16
By Samuel Teets
Stud: T.J. Watt, OLB
The same three players keep carrying Pittsburgh’s defense. Bud Dupree, Cameron Heyward, and Watt consistently do their jobs and make very few mistakes. While Minkah Fitzpatrick and company do work in the secondary, they’re not on the same level. The guys up front are the real stars for Pittsburgh.
On Sunday, Watt recorded five tackles, two quarterback hits, and one sack. He stripped Sam Darnold on that sack and then recovered the ball. That set Pittsburgh up for their only touchdown of the game. Without Watt, the Steelers would not have scored a touchdown against the lowly Jets.
Both Heyward and Dupree racked up seven tackles. Heyward only got one quarterback hit, and Dupree also picked up one along with a sack and two tackles for loss. Even with their excellent job against the run, it’s stunning that Pittsburgh only sacked Darnold twice.
Dud: JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR
In a lineup with extremely young wide receivers, Smith-Schuster is the veteran presence. Even though he’s only a third-year player, Smith-Schuster is a Pro Bowler and supposedly is the team’s best receiver. After this year, Johnson might be the team’s best receiver because Smith-Schuster looked average to below average for most of the season.
Smith-Schuster missed a high-point, catchable pass on Pittsburgh’s final offensive play of the game. If he made the catch, the Steelers would be sitting in great field position for a game-winning score. Instead, the team lost control of their playoff destiny.
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Smith-Schuster does great things for the community and is a great guy, but he’s not a true number one wide receiver. Granted, everyone’s numbers suffer when Hodges or Rudolph is in at quarterback, but it’s fair to ask for more from Smith-Schuster. He hasn’t shown up for the Steelers this year. The USC product caught two passes for 22 yards on Sunday.