The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Saturday for the fourteenth game of the 2023 regular season when they played the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15 of regular season action. The Steelers were losers in the contest, but that doesn’t mean every player had a good or bad performance.

Players who play well can be considered ‘Winners’, while those who left a lot to be desired can be called ‘Losers’. It may sound harsh, but it is the crux of this exercise.

Let’s check in to see who fell on which side of the ledger after the latest game…

Winner

T.J. Watt
Stat Line: 3 tackles, 2 solo, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 QB Hits

I tried really hard to find another player who could have been a winner in this game. I could have said Conner Heyward for his blocked punt, but he also had a holding call and dropped pass. Other than that, it was the type of game where Watt was the only player who you could point to and say, “He did his job.” Sad state of affairs.

Losers

30 Unanswered Points
Stat Line: Wow

It’s hard to believe the Steelers actually led in this game 13-0 at one point. There would be more positivity to come, right? Wrong. From that moment on things went into an unrecoverable tailspin on their way to a third straight loss. This was a collective meltdown, and it is had to fathom having three more games on the schedule.

Living in Fears
Stat Line: Kick the FG

Tomlin’s decision to bypass a 57-yard Chris Boswell field goal attempt, in a dome, and kick a field goal was the epitome of living in their fears. You needed a field goal regardless, and the decision to punt wasn’t just poor, but was poorly executed. Harvin’s punt sky-rocketed and was fair caught at the 17-yard line. A net 22-yard punt. Just one of many horrible sequences which made Tomlin, and his team, look horrible.

Mitch Trubisky
Stat Line: 16/23, 169 yards, 7.3 ave., 1 TD, 2 INTs, 3 sacks-for-19, 68.9 Rating / 2 carries, 1 yard, 1 TD

Trubisky was Trubisky. This is what Mitch has become. He isn’t an NFL starting quarterback, and, if I’m being honest, he isn’t an NFL back-up either. When you look at what high quality back-ups in the NFL can do, they can go win you a couple games until the starter returns. The Steelers have won just 2 games Trubisky has started the past two seasons. On the flip side, look at what Garnder Minshew has done in Indianapolis after taking over when Anthony Richardson was injured for the season in Week 5. Josh Dobbs is a good back up who can win a few games. Mitch can’t do that, at least not in Pittsburgh.

3rd Down Offense
Stat Line: 4-for-12

Not .500, and not good enough.

Mike Tomlin
Stat Line: Inserting Rudolph into the game

Tomlin should be held over the coals for this loss, but, in my opinion, the insertion of Mason Rudolph into the waning minutes of the game was downright laughable. Some will say Trubisky was officially “fired”, but I saw it as a coach just grasping for something tangible to say he tried something. At that point, the damage was done, and now all he has done is welcome more criticism and questions heading further into a December to forget.

Najee Harris
Stat Line: 12 carries, 33 yards, 2.8 ave., 0 TD, 15 long, 1 Fumble

When you look at the sequence which took place after halftime, it was one which completely altered the game. The Colts received the football to start the third quarter, and the defense forces a three-and-out. The Steelers first play is a Najee Harris fumble. Harris isn’t a fumbler, but losing that ball was a back-breaker in every sense of the word. To make matters worse, Harris was ineffective all game and then refused to speak to the media after the game. There isn’t much more immature than a player who isn’t willing to talk to media after a poor performance. A really bad look all around.

Rush Defense
Stat Line: 34 carries, 170 yards, 5 yd ave.

No Jonathan Taylor. Zach Moss gets injured during the game and doesn’t return. Trey Sermon and some no=name runners ran the ball right down the Steelers throats. The worst was the 12 straight runs where the Colts moved the ball with ease into the red-zone. When did the drive stall? When they decided to throw a pass on 3rd down. If they would have kept running it, the drive likely would have ended in a touchdown, not a field goal. The Steelers injuries in the middle of the defense are notable, but not an excuse when you see the injuries to the Colts’ running backs.

Penalties 
Stat Line: 8-for-101 yards

You can tell a lot about a team based on how many penalties they accrue throughout a game. 101 penalty yards isn’t a fluke or NFL officiating targeting the Steelers in certain settings. No, it is the sign of an undisciplined, poorly coached football team.

Turnovers/Differential
Stat Line: 3 turnovers / 0 takeaways

Coming into this game, the key to victory was simple — take the ball away, and don’t turn it over. The Steelers coughed it up three times and didn’t take it away once. That isn’t a recipe for success, it’s a recipe for disaster. At one point the Steelers were tied with the NFL lead in turnover differential, but that number continues to dwindle by the week. While Trubisky’s two INTs were killers, the fumble by Najee Harris was the back breaker.

Pressley Harvin
Stat Line: Just not good enough

Last offseason Dave Schofield did a Stat Geek podcast on Pressley Harvin’s performances and if there were any conclusions to draw from them. What he saw was Harvin was solid at home, and bad on the road. Even punting in an enclosed environment like Lucas Oil Field didn’t help “Big Press” with his consistency problems.

Officiating
Stat Line: Kazee ejected?!

When Damontae Kazee hit Michael Pittman, we all knew the flag was coming. It was the textbook call in today’s NFL, but what no one saw coming was Kazee being ejected from the game. This begs the question of what is an ejectable hit, and one which just draws a flag and fine? Some might argue Elandon Roberts’ hit vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13 was almost the same style of hit, yet he wasn’t ejected from the game. Where exactly is the line between one and the other? I left that play asking the same question, “What is Kazee supposed to do in that situation?” The answer from the NFL is clear, “Let him just catch the ball.”

Playoff Hopes
Stat Line: All but done

No, the Steelers aren’t mathematically eliminated from the postseason, yet, but at this point anyone who suggests this team can turn it around is just fooling themselves. Will they win another game this regular season is the question, not if they’ll make the playoffs. To think this team was once 6-3 is crazy.

Injuries
Stat Line: Gas on the fire

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s season from hell continues with a knee injury, and now Cam Heyward is in the NFL’s concussion protocol. You know what they say, “When it rains, it pours.”

NFL Network
Stat Line: So many commercials

As most Steelers fans are, we are accustomed to the way CBS handles a broadcast. The NFL Network is a different entity, and boy do they love their commercials. I swear there were moments in a quarter where I felt I watched more commercials than football. It was painful.

Steelers Fans Everywhere
Stat Line: We are all losers

The fact we, the fans, continually subject ourselves to this form of cruel and unusual punishment is one of those things which sometimes I never understand. Yes, I cover the team, but I’m not about to suggest I wouldn’t be glued to the television every Sunday even if I didn’t have to write/podcast about this team. This team is something we can’t quit, and it is painful at times. I feel bad for those like my five kids who were watching at points with me Saturday, only to be too bored to watch the entire game. This team isn’t just bad, they’re boring…and that makes these 4+ hour ventures even more difficult to stomach.

If you want a more detailed look at the above list, check out my “Let’s Ride” podcast in the player below where I outline each Winner and Loser, and MORE!