The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Saturday night for the second time of the 2024 preseason when they hosted the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 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

Nick Herbig
Stat Line: 6 tackles, 3 solo, 1.5 sacks, 1 TFL, 2 QB Hits

The crazy thing about Nick Herbig is how he has the ability to make plays when he doesn’t see the field for a very long time. Even going back to his rookie season, he was making splash plays in a very limited role. That trend continues into 2024 with Herbig making significant plays on both defense and special teams in a very limited role. Herbig might not be T.J. Watt 2.0, but the Steelers don’t need him to be that at this point. If he can continue this trend, he could be a very dangerous third pass rusher coming off the bench to fill in for Alex Highsmith or T.J. Watt.

Keeanu Benton
Stat Line: 2 tackles, .5 sack, 2 QB Hits

Last week Benton left the game early with an eye injury after being poked in the eye, so this was the first extended time we’ve seen him on the defensive front. And he didn’t disappoint. Benton looks the part of a 2nd Round pick who is ready to explode in his second season, and the Steelers will certainly benefit from his play up front alongside veterans like Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi. Benton is continuing to improve in leaps and bounds, and that was on display Saturday night.

Cameron Johnston
Stat Line: 5 punts, 56.8 ave., 2 inside 20

Certainly isn’t a good thing when your punter is the best part of anything even resembling an offensive player on the winners list, nonetheless Johnston has been tremendous this preseason. Averaging over 56 yards per punt is awesome, and Johnston is showing why he was the Steelers’ first free agent acquisition this offseason.

Patrick Queen
Stat Line: 2 tackles, 2 solo

Two tackles doesn’t necessarily scream “winner”, but if I’m being honest it was just awesome seeing Patrick Queen out there in a Steelers uniform. Fans have gotten accustomed to seeing him in a Ravens uniform, but Queen was noticeable during the game patrolling the middle of the defense. We saw Queen in limited action both with Elandon Roberts and Payton Wilson, and he even flashed his blitzing in about a quarter of action. Queen is athletic and fast, something the Steelers have been looking for at the inside linebacker position for more than just a few years. Queen looks to fill that void.

DeMarvin Leal
Stat Line: 1 tackle, 1 solo

Last year at the end of the season I was calling Leal “Mr. Inactive”, and it seems this offseason the Steelers finally gave Leal some guidance as to what they want him to be. Leal was called a “tweener” when he came out if college and Karl Dunbar has spoken about how the desire is for Leal to be more of a pass rusher than a defensive lineman. So far, so good in this regard. Leal didn’t put up a ton of stats, but he was making plays. When you saw Leal getting the quarterback off his mark, it doesn’t go down as a stat, but it impacts the play. That’s exactly what he has been doing this preseason and camp, and he could have a role on this 53-man roster if he keeps trending in this direction.

Mark Robinson
Stat Line: 6 tackles, 5 solo, 1 TFL

After the Steelers drafted Payton Wilson, Mark Robinson had to see his professional career being put on alert. When the Steelers signed Tyler Matakevich, that would have gone to high alert. Robinson has been making plays, even against back-ups, but that isn’t what truly gets him on the winners list. What gets him on the winners list would be his special teams play. When you are buried on the depth chart at inside linebacker, you make the team on special teams. Robinson had a big hit on special teams and has proven he is continually improving to be quality depth at inside linebacker.

Losers 

Offensive Line
Stat Line: 4 sacks, 10 QB Hits, 106 yards rushing

The Steelers offensive line was not good in any capacity Saturday night. No other way to put it, and the above stat line doesn’t truly tell the full story. Some might see this and say, “They rushed for over 100 yards.” but 42 of those yards came by way of Justin Fields scrambling. Outside of the debut of center Zach Frazier, every aspect of the offensive line was sub-par and more than worthy to be on the losers list following the game Saturday.

Broderick Jones
Stat Line: 3 QB Hits, 2 Sacks surrendered

If the above paragraph wasn’t enough for an individual, it would be Broderick Jones. Tackles are often left on an island, and Jones had that task on more than one occasion vs. Greg Rousseau. If you watched the game, you know exactly what that looked like with Jones being beaten repeatedly. Some are suggesting Jones is hurt, but if that’s the case and his play is hindered that much by it, he shouldn’t be playing. For the sake of state of Jones’ overall abilities, I hope an injury is hampering his ability because what we saw vs. the Bills was bad.

Russell Wilson
Stat Line: 8/10, 47 yards, 4.7 ave., 0 TD, 0 INT, 3 sacks-for-21 yards, 86.2 Rating

I hate to single out Wilson when the line in front of him was so bad, but this is more than just a stat line. To me, this was the worst possible scenario for Wilson. He missed the majority of training camp and was held out of the first preseason game vs. the Texans. While he was out, Justin Fields tantalized the fans with his playmaking ability. However, that excitement would all have been quieted with a solid performance on Saturday night. What fans saw were what Denver Broncos fans have been saying since the Broncos paid Wilson to leave, and that is a quarterback to takes too many sacks, holds the ball too long, and doesn’t throw to the middle of the field. While Fields wasn’t lighting it up, there is absolutely doubt creeping into everyone’s mind as to what Wilson can be for the Steelers at this stage of his career.

Injuries
Stat Line: Starting to pile up

A big part of the preseason is avoiding major injury, and while the Steelers have done that (I just knocked on wood) they have seen the number of banged up players increase dramatically. In the game Saturday night they saw Jaylen Warren, Anthony Averett, Tyler Matakevich and Payton Wilson all leave the field with injury at some point. And this doesn’t even show the players who were held out, like Beanie Bishop, due to nagging injuries. The injuries are piling up, and at the wrong time.

Offensive Money Downs
Stat Line: 4-for-12 3rd Downs / 0-for-3 4th Downs

You have to hinder your expectations in the preseason with vanilla offensive schemes, but you do hope you see some execution at some point. Especially on the “money downs”, as Mike Tomlin calls them. I’m referring to the red-zone, 3rd downs, and 4th downs. The Steelers were awful in all of those areas Saturday night. It didn’t matter who was at quarterback, who was catching passes, or what defense they were going against. The execution was bad all around. This comes to the coaches as well as the player, but it has to improve quickly before the real games start in just a couple weeks.

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!