Behind the Steel Curtain
Despite a less-than-stellar performance in Week 3, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-1 after defeating the New England Patriots 21-14. Some new names made big plays to help lead the Steelers to victory, so let’s get right into this week’s winners and losers.
Echols very nearly won the game single-handedly for the Steelers. After a 17-play drive by the Patriots, the first-year Steeler picked off Drake Maye in the end zone to prevent a touchdown before halftime. And of course, as the Patriots were driving at the end of the fourth quarter looking to tie the game, Echols tackled DeMario Douglas on 4th-and-1 to prevent a conversion, sealing the win for the Steelers. With Joey Porter Jr. on the shelf, the Steelers needed their depth pieces to step up, and Echols did so by having the game of his life.
Herbig had an ungodly game as he started in place of Alex Highsmith. He had eight(!) pressures on Drake Maye, a sack, and a forced fumble. Regardless of Highsmith’s health, Herbig needs to be the starter. He’s a spark plug, he makes far more splash plays off the edge, and it’s incredibly evident he is the second-best pass rusher in Pittsburgh.
Watt finally came to life against the Patriots. He recorded his first two sacks of the season, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble as well. He had six pressures and also had four run stops, continuing to make plays in the run game on top of having a big performance as a pass rusher. This is the T.J. Watt the Steelers paid to keep around, and they need to see him far more often.
Heyward got a paw on the Maye pass that was picked off by Echols in the end zone, and also forced the second fumble of the day from Rhamondre Stevenson at the goal line. Additionally, he had six tackles and a sack – by far the best showing of the year from No. 97.
Welcome to the NFL, Derrick Harmon. While he only played 34 snaps, he made them count. He had two run stops on nine run snaps. On top of that, he registered his first career sack and had three pressures. This is why they drafted him in the first round. He can provide pressure from the interior, and the Steelers’ run defense was notably better. Great debut for the first-round pick.
In the dictionary definition of a revenge game, Peppers made plays against his former team that directly led to the Steelers getting the win. He recovered an Antonio Gibson fumble that was forced by T.J. Watt in Steelers territory to kill a potential scoring chance for the Patriots. New England’s loss is Pittsburgh’s gain, as Peppers had six tackles and the takeaway to stick it to his former team.
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