The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Sunday for the twelfth game of the 2023 regular season when they played the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13 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

Running Game
Stat Line: 31 carries, 130 yards, 4.2 ave., 0 TD, 18 yard long

I’m not a huge fan of the usage of the Steelers backs, but the team still ran the ball well vs. the Cardinals. It was when they got down two scores when they felt that wasn’t an option to move the ball anymore when things went south. This team, especially without Pickett, will need to lean on it’s running game like they’ve never leaned on it before. Is it guaranteed to work? No, but if there has been one area of success the Steelers have found in the second half of the season, it’s been the running game.

George Pickens
Stat Line: 4 catches, 86 yards, 21.5 ave., 0 TD, 38 long, 5 targets

If the Steelers stand a chance down the stretch, the running game and Pickens will have to really step up their game. Pickens is one of a few game-changing type players on this offense, and they’ll need to lean on him for production like this, and likely more, if the team wants to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Losers

Mason Cole
Stat Line: More bad snaps

Last offseason I was hoping the Steelers would address the center position in some way, and they didn’t. They hoped Mason Cole would step up, but that certainly hasn’t been the case. And this isn’t solely on the poor snap which resulted in a fumble recovered by the Cardinals, but his overall blocking just hasn’t been good. Center is at, or near, the top of the offseason needs list.

Miles Killebrew
Stat Line: 3 special teams penalties

I can’t say I’ve seen one player get three special teams penalties in one game before, but that’s exactly what Killebrew did Sunday. Running into the kicker, hitting a returner who signaled fair catch and a facemask penalty. Killebrew hit the wrong kind of trifecta.

Injuries
Stat Line: Laundry List

The injury list was long after this one…

Kenny Pickett: Expected to miss 2-4 weeks with ankle injury
Elandon Roberts: Groin injury
Isaac Seumalo: Shoulder injury
T.J. Watt: Anle injury
Minkah Fitzpatric: Broken hand, had it casted during a delay

You know what they say…when it rains, it pours.

Run Defense 
Stat Line: ARI – 130 yards, 4.2 yards per carry

The key for the Steelers defense was don’t let James Conner get going. They let James Conner get going, and he ran for over 100 yards on the defense. It wasn’t good from top to bottom. Some of it was based on injuries to players like Elandon Roberts, and others it is due to just poor play. Either way, the run defense wasn’t good.

Diontae Johnson’s TD Celebration
Stat Line: Tone deaf

I shouldn’t be shocked, but I am after last week. After being lambasted by the media for not hustling after a loose ball vs. the Bengals, Diontae Johnson caught a touchdown pass while down three scores, and celebrated. It doesn’t get much more tone deaf than that. I watched in the Eagles vs. 49ers game as Jalen Hurts scored a meaningless touchdown at the end of the game. Not even a hint of celebration as he went back to the sideline. As far as Johnson is concerned, some things will never change I guess.

Coaching
Stat Line: WTH was that?

The coaches are responsible to have their teams ready to play, and when you have players like Jaylen Warren suggesting the team took the Cardinals lightly, and Mitch Trubisky saying the team needs to practice better. Who does that point a finger to? The coaches, and they didn’t get the job done this week in any sense of the word.

Penalties
Stat Line: 9-for-77 yards

As mentioned earlier, Killebrew had a banner day in this department, but the mind-numbing penalties for illegal formation and penalties in the defensive secondary started to pile up quickly. Good teams don’t have these brain fart penalties, especially to the tune of 9 for 77 yards,

3rd Down Defense
Stat Line: ARI 10-for-17

The Steelers didn’t convert on third downs, more on that shortly, but the Cardinals sure did. Last season the league average was roughly 40% on 3rd downs. I like the Steelers to be at 50%, which is rare in 2023. The Cardinals were well above 50%, and a large part of that is based on the defense’s ability to get off the field. JV effort.

Red-Zone Offense
Stat Line: 1-for-3

When I did my part of the X-Factor article which runs on game day, I chose the red-zone offense as my X-Factor. If the Steelers scored touchdowns and not kick field goals, I felt they wouldn’t let a sub-par team stick around. Instead, they kicked a field goal, and failed on a 4th-and-goal from the 1…and let a sub-par team stick around. The poor play spiraled out of control, and injuries combined to make on heck of a poor performance.

3rd Down Offense
Stat Line: 4-for-11

The Steelers didn’t win the “weighty” downs, as Mike Tomlin likes to say, and this isn’t a new trend. In fact, this area of the game has been on the losers list far more than the winners list this season, once.

Paying Customers
Stat Line: What a suck-fest

Whether you were in attendance, like Dave Schofield, pay for NFL Sunday Ticket, or paid anything, even a cable bill, to watch this game…we are all losers for watching this mess.

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!