The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Wednesday for the sixteenth time of the 2024 regular season when they hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17 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…

Winners

Jaylen Warren
Stat Line: 11 carries, 71 yards, 6.5 ave., 22 long / 5 catches, 41 yards, 6 targets

If there is a bright spot on this dumpster fire of a team, it’s No. 30. While watching the game with my younger kids I was saying how I wanted to see more of Warren, and they asked why? Warren does almost everything better than Najee Harris at this stage. He runs inside, outside, catches the ball, run routes, and is one of the best pass protectors in the game as a running back. Warren is an outstanding player, and will likely be the RB1 in 2025 and hopefully beyond.

Running Game
Stat Line: 31 carries, 202 yards, 6.5 ave., 1 TD, 22 long

There might be a lot of people who suggest the Steelers rushing totals was nothing more than getting cheap yards vs. a prevent defense in garbage time. I made sure to check, and the Steelers were able to gain 156 yards on the ground before those garbage time yards were obtained. The interior offensive line did exactly what they should with Chris Jones out of the lineup, but the tackles were another story altogether, more on that later. The Steelers were able to get some of their ground game going, and that was a positive in this game.

Losers

Pass Protection
Stat Line: Russell Wilson sacked 5 times, 9 QB Hits

I gave the interior offensive line some props in the above paragraph, and while they did have some issues, the offensive tackles were turned into a turnstile on more than one occasion. It seemed like every time Russell Wilson dropped back to pass he was potentially being pressured by one, or both, of the edge rushers. The pass protection was a failure as a collective, and was one of the main reasons why the Steelers failed to remain competitive for four quarters in this contest.

Turnovers
Stat Line: 2, and of the critical variety

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the last Steelers game where they didn’t commit a turnover was the Sunday Night Football game vs. the New York Jets. It was Russell Wilson’s first start with the Steelers. But the quantity of the turnovers isn’t the only thing, but the past five games the Steelers have had turnovers at the most inopportune times. Looking at just the last three games:

• at PHI: Najee Harris fumble
• at BAL: Russell Wilson fumble at the goal line and the pick-six
• vs. KC: Red-Zone INT and Pat Freiermuth fumble

If the Steelers want to be competitive vs. the best teams in the league, and in the postseason, they have to stop these untimely turnovers. Without key takeaways, which have dried up recently, the team has a razor thin margin for error.

Pass Rush
Stat Line: 0 sacks, 2 QB Hits

Last week the Steelers only had one sack and one QB Hit on Lamar Jackson. This week they had no sacks on Patrick Mahomes and only two QB Hits. I know the plan was for them to get the football out quickly to minimize the Steelers pass rush. However, the hope would be the pass coverage would hold up on a few occasions to allow T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and company to get home. One more thing, the Steelers chose to make Preston Smith inactive in this game, which was interesting, but where has Nick Herbig gone? With Watt banged up, the hope was someone else would step up, and while Highsmith played a good game, I’ve been wondering when we’d see another Herbig splash play.

Defensive Secondary
Stat Line: KC – 29 catches, 320 yards, 11.0 ave., 3 TDs, 49 long, 38 targets

After the Steelers lost to the Ravens everyone talked about the injuries in the secondary which were the main issue for the communication issues. DeShon Elliott and Donte Jackson both returned for this game Wednesday, and the issues remained. Joey Porter Jr. was left out of the game, but as Elliott said after the game, it’s Week 17, these issues can’t be happening. Mahomes and company made them look foolish with receivers running free through zone coverage, and abusing the defense in man coverage without Porter Jr. on the field. What’s the fix? Who knows, but fixes are needed.

Red-Zone Defense
Stat Line: KC – 4-for-5

Speaking of things which have been an issue for the majority of the season, the team’s red-zone defense has been one of those issues. The bend-don’t-break method of defense is one thing, but the Chiefs turned this into the bend-and-broken method of defense as they only failed to convert a touchdown on one trip out of five. Not good, and it doesn’t seem as if there is any type of fix coming in this department anytime soon.

Anyone tasked with covering a TE
Stat Line: KC TEs: 11 catches for 150 yds, 2 TDs

The Steelers used to be known as the defense who couldn’t cover a tight end to save their life, but that hasn’t truly been the issue this season. However, it sure was this game. The Chiefs tight ends combined for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns, and they were running free on more than one occasion. One of those tight ends just happens to be one of the highest profile players in the league, Travis Kelce. How a defense goes into a game and ever has a play where No. 87 is not accounted for is beyond me, but the Steelers did the same thing with Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews last week. Yes, this is becoming a big issue.

Red-Zone Offense
Stat Line: 1-for-4

Just like the Steelers red-zone defense has been an issue all season, so has the red-zone offense. Sure, there have been games where the group performed above the line, but the 1-for-4 we witnessed vs. the Chiefs has been far more the norm this season than an outlier. There are many times where the Steelers moving the ball into the red-zone should be considered an achievement, settling for field goals, or not getting points at all isn’t acceptable at this stretch of the season.

Defensive Takeaways
Stat Line: 0

It had been a long time since the Steelers failed to create a turnover, and in this game they had two early chances to take the ball away before the game got out of hand. First was the Mark Robinson forced fumble on a punt return, but that ball ricocheted directly to a Chiefs player. I don’t blame that play, you don’t know which way the ball will bounce, but the dropped interception by Patrick Queen absolutely was a gut punch play. The Steelers have had been getting key defensive takeaways all season, but that has dried up and hopefully they’ll find that well once again before Week 18.

Coaching Failures
Stat Line: It’s a Hot Mess

The Steelers are a team who looks lost and discombobulated on almost every occasion. Offensively the team is unable to perform basic tasks. Defensively the communication issues have become a serious thing as the road has gotten narrow. A lot of, but not all, falls on the coaching staff and their ability to prepare the team for a game. Some say Mike Tomlin is a coach who needs a full week to prepare the team. A coach who wants to put “eight pounds in a seven pound bag”, but what does it say when other coaches are more equipped to handle the daily rigors of the NFL? The Chiefs traveled on a short week, did nothing but hold walk-throughs, and looked more prepared and ready than the home team. That speaks volumes to me about the coaching staff’s ability to get the team ready to play. I do want to add not everything falls on the coaches. Great example is Connor Heyward lining up offsides which negated a third down conversion to George Pickens. You are a professional player in the NFL, those type of things are absolutely inexcusable, and not on the coaches.

December to Forget
Stat Line: 2-3, 3 straight losses

What is crazy is the Steelers played five games in the month of December. They went as follows:

• Dec. 1 – @ CIN – W
• Dec. 8 – vs. CLE – W
• Dec. 15 – @ PHI – L
• Dec. 21 – @ BAL – L
• Dec. 25 – vs. KC – L

Outside of the sheer number of games in the month, this month has been one to forget for the Steelers, and it unfortunately has become the norm with the Steelers and their play in the final month of the calendar year. While some companies talk about a “December to Remember”, those advertisements are usually surrounding that amazing gift for the holidays. This December was a “December to Forget” and the Steelers faithful got a lump of coal in their stockings on Christmas which was accompanied by yet another year where the team stumbles down the stretch.

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!