The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Friday night for the first time of the 2024 regular season when they hosted the Houston Texans in Week 1 of preseason 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

Montravius Adams
Stat Line: 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PD

The Steelers didn’t play a lot of their starters, but one player who has experience playing in regular season games continued his strong play from training camp to the regular season. Montravius Adams, who has had a great camp, continued with a sack and pass defense in his limited first half action for the Steelers. Adams was called into early action after Keeanu Benton left with an eye injury, and he played well in his stead. Good to see solid depth along the defensive line.

Fields-to-Pickens Connection
Stat Line: 2 catches, 2 targets, 25 yards, 12.5 ave., 0 TD, 15 long

The Justin Fields Experience, which is a roller coaster, was in full effect in this game, but when he needed to make a play through the air he was typically looking at No. 14. When Fields connected with 5 passes, two of them went to Pickens for 25 yards. Pickens didn’t need to see a lot of time to prove he is more than capable of shouldering the load, but it was good to see the connection between Fields and Pickens continue from training camp to an in-stadium contest.

Payton Wilson
Stat Line: 7 tackles, 5 solo, 1 TFL

Sometimes in the preseason it is difficult to see if players really jump off the screen. It is even more rare to see a rookie pop off the screen, especially a linebacker. But that’s exactly what Payton Wilson did in his first professional action with the Steelers. Wilson didn’t make every play that came his way, but he was noticeable in a positive way on defense and on special teams. This is just the beginning for the talented linebacker.

Kyle Allen
Stat Line: 17/23, 193 yards, 8.4 ave., 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack for 10 yards, 95.0 Rating

After a slow start in the first half, Allen bounced back in a big way, creating big plays to both Calvin Austin III and Scotty Miller. Allen’s veteran experience helped boost the Steelers and put points on the board. He could have had even more success if he hadn’t overthrown Austin in the corner of the end-zone on a 4th down, which resulted in a turnover on downs. Nonetheless, Allen went from the Loser list in the first half to the Winner list in the second half.

Teach Tape
Stat Line: The anti-2023 Preseason

The Steelers had a preseason last year I referred to as the “Pristine Preseason”. They won every game, their starting offense looked unstoppable, and it might have been easy for players to start believing some of the hype which had been discussed about them on all fronts. Well, not this season. Not only does the Steelers preseason winning streak end, thank God, but there will be plenty of tape for the coaches to dive into to allow the team to get focused and realize they have a long way to go before they are considered a finished product.

Losers

QB-C Exchange
Stat Line: 2 botched snaps

The Nate Herbig and Justin Fields connection was not very strong in this game. In just a few series, the QB-C connection had two botched snaps. Luckily the Steelers were able to recover both of those fumbles, but they were difficult to overcome in every possible way. Who was at fault? That’s up for debate, and I’m sure there would be equal fault between center and quarterback. Just one of the many miscues made on the night for the Steelers.

Quez Watkins
Stat Line: Lost fumble on punt return

Watkins was used as a punt returner in the first half of the game, and let’s just say that experiment might not last long. His first return was fair caught without a defender within twenty yards of him. Nonetheless, there is always the chance the coaching staff told him to fair catch the ball, for whatever reason. Then, after a nice three-and-out by the defense, Watkins badly misplayed a punt which went over his head. Instead of letting it go, he tried to catch it over his shoulder, dropped the ball and it was recovered by the Texans. A few plays later the Houston offense scored, and just like that the Steelers were looking at a two score deficit. Not a good look for Watkins’ hopes of making the roster.

Tackling
Stat Line: Too many to count

There was plenty of sloppy play for the Steelers in this game, and nothing would top the tackling. While tackles aren’t an official statistic, therefore you don’t have official missed tackle stats, but the tackling in this game was horrendous. Chalk it up to the first preseason game, but I have a feeling Mike Tomlin might be having some physical padded practices coming up at Saint Vincent College to get his team refocused.

Penalties
Stat Line: 6 penalties for 59 yards

The tackling was sloppy, but was was the overall play. Penalties, mainly on special teams, were the standard for the Steelers in this game. It just typified a very rough outing for the home team. When it comes to “cleaning it up”, the Steelers have their work cut out for them.

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!