The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Sunday for the fourth time of the 2024 regular season when they traveled to play the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 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

Justin Fields
Stat Line: 22/34, 312 yards, 9.2 ave., 1 TD, 0 INTs, 4-sacks-30 yards, 104.0 Rating / 10 rushes, 55 yards, 5.5 ave., 2 TDs, 12 long / 2 Fumbles

There are some fans who have a “dog in the fight” when it comes to the Steelers quarterback situation. In other words, there are those who are rooting for Justin Fields, and those who are rooting for Russell Wilson to get a shot. I’m neither, I just want the Steelers to win. And I think right now Fields gives this offense the best chance to win. The offensive line is struggling, mainly due to injury, but a stationary target behind that line would look more like a sitting duck than anything else. Fields’ mobility should make him the starter for the foreseeable future, but let’s also not be blind to the progress he’s made since the start of the season. Fields isn’t without his warts, but he is playing at a winning level.

Pat Freiermuth
Stat Line: 5 catches, 57 yards, 1 TD, 29 yard long, 7 targets

If you combine Freiermuth’s catches with Darnell Washington’s and you have 7 passes to the tight ends in this game. That is progress for the Steelers offense, and it is good to see Freiermuth break his touchdown drought. What you’re starting to see is the offense start to utilize the talented tight end in a way we all anticipated since Freiermuth was drafted in the 2nd Round of the 2021 draft. I big step in the right direction.

Cordarrelle Patterson
Stat Line: 6 carries, 43 yards, 7.2 ave., 12 yard long / 2 catches, 19 yards, 2 targets

It’s crazy a player who left the game with an injury in the first half is on the winners list, but here we are. Patterson was decisive, hard-running and versatile. In limited action he accrued over 60 yards of offense, and before he left looked as if the Steelers offensive line had the Colts defense on the ropes. Let’s hope Patterson’s ankle injury isn’t serious, or Jaylen Warren is capable of returning to the lineup in Week 5. Otherwise, the running back depth is pretty bare.

Red-Zone Offense
Stat Line: 3-for-4

The Steelers entered the game with an offense which didn’t rank high on the red-zone conversion list across the league; however, the performance vs. the Colts will certainly help. Converting on 75% of their red-zone appearances was a nice change of pace, especially against a Colts defense which allowed 60% in red-zone conversion rate to their opponents heading into Week 4. The only red-zone trip the Steelers didn’t score was the trip which resulted in the George Pickens fumble. More on that later…

Losers

Injuries
Stat Line: Keep adding up

The Steelers suffered the following injuries during the Week 4 loss:

James Daniels (ankle)
Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle)
Nick Herbig (ankle)

Herbig was able to return to the game, but Daniels was seen on crutches in the locker room after the game. A bad day at the office for injuries, and even though Herbig was able to return, you do have to wonder just how the ankle injury will respond in the next 24-48 hours.

Defense at large
Stat Line: Couldn’t make the big play

If I wanted to list out every defensive player who played below the standard fans have for them, it would be lengthy. As a whole the defense just couldn’t make the necessary plays to win. Couldn’t get off the field on third downs, couldn’t generate turnovers, couldn’t get to the quarterback and struggled to make the basic plays fans have gotten accustomed to them making. The defense played below-the-line, and the hope is this was a one-off, and not the begin of a new norm.

3rd Down Defense
Stat Line: IND 8-for-15

Speaking of the Steelers’ 3rd down offense, they led the NFL in 3rd down defense coming into Week 4, but they likely won’t hold that title heading into Week 5. The Steelers allowed Joe Flacco to convert over 50% of their 3rd downs, and it was a critical part of the team’s first loss of the season.

Offensive Line/Pass Protection
Stat Line: 4 sacks / 9 QB hits

When you look at the raw statistics, you wouldn’t think the offensive line was much of a problem.

Rushing: 30 carries, 122 yards, 2 TDs
Passing: 22 passes, 312 yards, 1 TD

However, you aren’t seeing the quarterback leading the team in rushing, and that same quarterback getting hit early and often, sometimes by free rushers. There were injuries along the offensive line, this is obvious, but you still hope the unit as a whole can do a better job in one facet of their game so the offense can lean into that strength. This unit doesn’t have a calling card just yet, and likely won’t until Isaac Seumalo returns.

QB/C Exchanges
Stat Line: Too many this season

I don’t know who is to blame for all the QB/C exchange issues, and I really don’t care. Justin Fields took full blame for the most recent botched snap, but all I want are the issues fixed. These seem to come more on the road than at home, but these issues can’t happen moving forward.

Turnovers
Stat Line: -2 in differential

For the second straight game the Steelers have turned the ball over and haven’t been able to take it away. After two weeks the Steelers led the NFL in turnover differential, but the last two weeks they’ve been -3 in that category. If the Steelers want to win, they can’t turn it over multiple times. They might be able to survive one turnover, but multiple turnovers without a takeaway of their own makes for difficult sledding.

George Pickens
Stat Line: 7 catches, 113 yards, 16.1 ave., 0 TD, 38 long, 1 Fumble

When you look at the stat line, you might wonder how Pickens would find himself on the Losers list. Nonetheless, I am not just looking at the raw statistics, but the critical dropped touchdown catch and the costly fumble. Pickens sees himself as a Top 5 wide receiver in the league, and he absolutely should view himself that way, but he has to realize those type of receivers rarely make those type of mistakes. Pickens is showing the effort, but definitely needs to clean up the mistakes early in this season.

Coaching
Stat Line: Out-coached top-to-bottom

Another dud of a game, and another game which felt like the Steelers were out-coached. Whether it’s the predictable nature of the early game Steelers offense, or the defense’s inability to get out of their vanilla zone defensive schemes. It almost seemed as if the Steelers were stunned the much-maligned Colts would come out with their hair on fire ready to prove a point, a home. Even then, the Steelers weathered their defense giving up 14 quick points, but the lack of preparedness, especially on offense, was below the line.

Penalties
Stat Line: 6-for-53 yards

Mike Tomlin brought officials in for practice prior to the Week 3 game vs. the Chargers. It worked. I’m not sure if they did that last week or not, but he should have officials at every practice. There were more pre-snap penalties, personal foul penalties (some bogus), and even penalties which made no sense at all. Steelers need to clean it up, and do it fast.

Officiating
Stat Line: As questionable as always

I’m going to call this one down the middle. The officiating was awful on both sides. The defensive pass interference on Joey Porter Jr. early in the game was soft, and then more egregious penalties weren’t called later in the game. The roughing the passer on Justin Fields, the first one, was soft and shouldn’t have been called. I don’t even know what to say about the personal foul call on Minkah Fitzpatrick along the sideline. It’s no wonder players say they have no idea what to do in certain situations based on the horrible officiating in the league. Will it change? No, it won’t. If it hasn’t yet, it won’t be changing anytime soon.

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!