Steelers Week 16 winners and losers vs the Texans
The Pittsburgh Steelers gave their fans a Christmas Day gift for the second year in a row with a win over the Houston Texans in Week 16. Methodically, the Steelers pitched a shoot-out for the majority of the game defensively while steadily moving the chains for successful drives on offense. With Antonio Brown still sidelined there were questions about how the offense would do, but it became obvious that the addition of Stevan Ridley to the lineup was a positive and the receivers could step up in critical situations.
There were very few bad moments from a Pittsburgh team that secured a first-round bye in the playoffs with the 34-6 win in Houston. Giving SCU’s resident “winners/losers” author Tommy Jaggi a holiday gift by way of writing this up, here are my Steelers winners and losers from Week 16.
Winners
Mike Hilton
When Keith Butler revamped his defensive schemes for this season, the Steelers added Mike Hilton to the mix as a slot corner with some good results. Against the Texans, Hilton did not disappoint in giving Steelers Nation the #HiltonHive love by recording three sacks on the day. Only Troy Polamalu and Carnell Lake have accomplished that same feat at the defensive back position for the Steelers. Hilton earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance.
Le’Veon Bell
Even though recent-addition Stevan Ridley had a nice game with 28 yards on nine carries, Le’Veon Bell once again gave a nice performance that promises better things moving forward. Helping balance the offense and offering Ben Roethlisberger a level of confidence with Brown absent and a mix of receivers stepping in, Bell carried the ball 14 times for 69 yards and a touchdown. Bell added five receptions for 28 yards.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Smith-Schuster has proven to be a rising star for the Steelers. Against the Texans, the rookie receiver led the team with six catches (in seven targets) for 75 yards (12.5 avg.) and a touchdown. He continued to exhibit good blocking skills and showed a level of maturity taking the lead receiver role that screamed ‘veteran attitude’.
Cam Heyward
Heyward has been a vocal and emotional leader for the Steelers all season. Against the Texans, Heyward logged two sacks, two tackles for a loss and forced a fumble on one of the sacks. Bud Dupree was able to recover the loose ball. Heyward gave the defensive line the stability it needed and looks to continue to be one of the biggest assets on the defensive side of the ball in 2017.
Losers
Run Defense
The Steelers looked better against the run against the Texans than they did against the Patriots, but there is still work to be done without Ryan Shazier on the field. Houston utilized two extra offensive linemen, the Texans went on a drive in the third quarter that included 75 yards rushing by Lamar Miller, Alfred Blue, and T.J. Yates. The only thing that kept the drive from resulting in a touchdown was an interception in the end zone by Artie Burns. The Steelers allowed 176 total rushing yards on 28 carries for a 6.3 yard-per-carry average. That needs to tighten up in the playoffs.
Red zone Offense
Pittsburgh had two nice drives stall in the red zone on Sunday. The first took place on the Steelers’ first offensive series. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Steelers took just eight plays to march 59 yards but had to settle for a 34-yard field goal. The drive looked good, with passes to Vance McDonald that gained 14 and 20 yards, respectively, and a 12-yard catch-and-run from Martavis Bryant. Bell had an 11-yard run but was stopped twice before Roethlisberger threw an incomplete pass to Eli Rogers to force Chris Boswell onto the field to put three points on the scoreboard. The second drive followed a the second takeaway of the game by the Steelers defense; the Steelers starting at Houston’s 28-yard line and converting just a single first down to bring Boswell on for a 36-yarder that sailed through the uprights.
