The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Thursday night for the thirteenth game of the 2023 regular season when they played the New England Patriots in Week 14 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

Elandon Roberts
Stat Line: 6 tackles, 2 solo, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 Pass Defense, 1 QB Hit

I tweeted during the game at one point, “Thank God Elandon Roberts is playing.” Roberts, who clearly was not 100% has turned into the heart-and-soul of the Steelers defense. His style of play with reckless abandon is a perfect fit for what people think of when they think about the Steelers defense. Give me 11 players with Elandon Roberts’ heart and hustle on the Steelers defense and you’d see a completely different team.

Miles Killebrew
Stat Line: Rebound game

I ripped Killebrew last week for his three special teams penalties, but he made up for it with his blocked punt which started to turn the tides. The performance vs. Arizona was an outlier with Killebrew, he’s a solid special teams player.

Losers

Mike Tomlin
Stat Line: Belichick remains better

Another game where Bill Belichick makes Mike Tomlin look like a novice from an X’s and O’s standpoint. We’ve seen this song and dance before, and it should have been expected. Belichick’s game plan, with the same amount of prep time, was extremely well done, and well executed, while Tomlin’s reactive game planning, waiting until you see what the opposition does and then adjusting, continues to befuddle the global Steelers fan base. Not a good look.

Mason Cole
Stat Line: 3 more bad snaps

Mason Cole’s play this season has center sky-rocketing up the team needs list this offseason. 3 more bad snaps thankfully didn’t result in a turnover, like it did vs. the Cardinals, but it certainly is a bad look for a position which has a primary job description of making sure the quarterback gets the football in a consistent fashion repeatedly.

Mitch Trubisky
Stat Line: 22/35, 190 yards, 5.4 ave., 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks-8 yards, 74.7 Rating / 1 rushing TD

Some will say a loss like this shouldn’t fall on just one player, and I agree, but I don’t think you can watch the game Thursday night and not put Mitch Trubisky on the loser list. I didn’t expect anything different, but Trubisky’s inability to make the necessary plays when it mattered most was a deciding factor in the game. Trubisky is who we thought he was, and sadly it wasn’t enough for the win.

Offensive Line
Stat Line: 2 sacks, 6 QB Hits

The offensive line didn’t give up a ridiculous number of sacks, but they gave up a lot of pressures and failed to adjust to the Patriots blitzing schemes. The Patriots only rushed three down linemen and sent defensive backs to confuse the blocking schemes, and they worked. Does this all fall on the line? Not necessarily, but the failure to run the ball effectively also was a disappointing aspect of the game.

P.O.T
Stat Line: Zero Points

The Steelers were able to get a takeaway, and it was returned into the red-zone. How many points did they get off of that? Zero. Hindsight is always 20/20, but taking the points on a 4th and 2 seemed to be the smart play to make it a one-score game.

Pass Defense
Stat Line: 19-28 / 222 yards / 3 TDs

Most of this damage was done in the first half, but it was damage which ended up sinking the ship early in the game. You could see the game plan working to perfection. The Patriots knew the Steelers would be stressed at ILB, so they used Zeke Elliott in the flat a lot early in the game. As the Steelers adjusted, they then started to attack the middle with Hunter Henry and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Both were successful, and the adjustments were too slow. Sure, the team got right in the second half, but the damage was done.

Passing Offense
Stat Line: 22-36 / 182 yards / 1 TD

The Steelers passing attack can be described in one way: discombobulated. There is no rhythm or flow to the passing attack, and as the Patriots stuffed the run the Steelers couldn’t adjust and move the ball through the air. George Pickens was a non-factor, and so were most of the targets as the offense produced hardly any “chunk” plays in the game.

Game Plan
Stat Line: Out-coached again

It seems like a weekly occurrence when the Steelers coaching staff are out-coached in every phase. Offense, defense, special teams. This isn’t just a New England thing either, opposing teams look more buttoned up, play harder, and show more heart than the Steelers on a weekly basis. That points to poor coaching.

3rd Down Offense
Stat Line: 3-for-14

I don’t know what to say about this stat line…it’s failure at the highest level.

Injuries
Stat Line: Keep adding up

Alex Highsmith is the latest player to go down with injury, and it was obvious players like T.J. Watt and Elandon Roberts were hampered with injury. Will they get healthy on the mini-bye, and will it even matter?

Officiating
Stat Line: Always an issue

Maybe there will be a week when the officiating isn’t discussed at a critical moment in an NFL game. If that week exists, I don’t expect it to be anytime soon. The call on Christian Kuntz for an illegal snap was about as ticky-tacky as them come, and will have Steelers fans wondering why these calls always seem to come at these critical junctures in contests.

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!