The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Sunday for the first time of the 2024 regular season when they traveled to play the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 of regular season action. The Steelers were winners 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

Chris Boswell
Stat Line: 6-for-6 FGs made / punting duties

57, 56, 51

Those are the yardages of Boswell’s 50+ yard field goals, but he also had three shorter field goals as well. If equating in all the team’s points isn’t enough, Boswell also had to punt when Cameron Johnston was injured in the game. Boswell had a phenomenal game, and there is no way I start a winners list without Boswell at the top. There is also no way you give out a game ball to anyone other than No. 9 in black-and-gold. Tremendous performance once again by the Wizard of Boz.

DeShon Elliott
Stat Line: 4 tackles, 1 solo, 2 PD, 1 INT

I talked about Elliott before the season started and talked about how Elliott would allow Minkah Fitzpatrick be “the guy” again. I compared him to Terrell Edmunds, but when I watched the game I realized this player is so much more than that. And Edmunds would have never made that diving interception early in the game. Elliott seems to be more Ryan Clark than Terrell Edmunds, and that is a huge upgrade. I’m excited to see what Elliott can do once he gets more acclimated into the system more.

Justin Fields
Stat Line: 17/23, 156 yards, 6.8 ave., 0 TD, 0 INTs, 2-sacks-for-23 yards, 91.9 Rating, 1 fumble / 14 carries, 57 yards, 4.1 ave., 12 yard long

Some will hate Fields being on the winners list, but when you look at the complete body of work, including the lead up to the game, there is no way I can leave Fields off the list. The plan was for Russell Wilson to be the quarterback, and then that changes on Thursday. People might say they have a similar game plan for both quarterbacks, but I disagree with those thoughts. There was an adjustment period for both Fields and Arthur Smith, and he played a solid game. Was he great? At times. Was he bad? At times. Did he make the back-breaking mistake? No. But he also drove the offense into scoring range seven times. Field goals and not touchdowns suck, but at the same time he made plays to get the team a win.

Rookie Debuts
Stat Line: P. Wilson – 3 tackles, 3 solo / Z. Frazier – 1 botched C/QB exchange, solid play / B. Bishop – 4 tackles, 4 solo

1st Round draft pick Troy Fautanu didn’t play much, if at all, after missing the majority of the preseason with a knee injury, but the rookies who did play put their best foot forward. In fact, I’d say the trio who had significant contributions in the game all made meaningful impacts on the game, none larger than Zach Frazier starting his very first professional game at center. It’s always good to see these types of contributions from young players, and not out of necessity.

Takeaways
Stat Line: 3 takeaways

The Steelers were +3 in the turnover differential in the game, and they needed every one of those takeaways to either stop Atlanta drives, or help the offense add points to their total. This was a huge key for the team heading into Week 1, and it was mission accomplished for the defense. As the offense finds its footing, the defense will have to help keep the ship afloat.

T.J. Watt
Stat Line: 4 tackles, 2 solo, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 3 QB Hits, 1 FR

I realize I could have Watt on this list every game, but I’ve always said if he deserves it, he should be on the list. In this game, the stat line doesn’t fully tell the story. The story of a player who dominated the game in every way possible, and had plays negated due to botched calls. You often watch Watt and wonder how he could ever get better, and then he does. He’s as good as it gets, and he’s in his prime. Let’s enjoy the excellence.

George Pickens
Stat Line: 6 rec., 85 yards, 14.2 ave., 0 TD, 40 long, 7 targets / -10 yards rushing

While Arthur Smith could shelf some of the Pickens runs, George Pickens proved just how good he is during the Week 1 game. If his big gain doesn’t get negated by a bogus OPI call, he goes well over 100 yards and the outcome of the game would likely be different. Nonetheless, Pickens seems to have taken another step in the right direction to become a better all-around receiver, and we’re here for it.

Donte Jackson
Stat Line: 2 tackles, 1 solo, 2 PD, 1 INT

When you have a shut down cornerback like Joey Porter Jr., you need to have a cornerback who can be comparable on the other side. On top of that, the corner needs to be able to play both sides of the field. While some thought Donte Jackson was a throw-away player in the Diontae Johnson trade, he is turning into so much more for the Steelers defense. A great debut for Jackson in a black-and-gold uniform.

Joey Porter Jr.
Stat Line: Drake London – 2 catches, 15 yards, 3 targets

Notice how I didn’t put Porter’s 3 tackles in the stat line. Why? Because if he is following the opposition’s top receiver, I’d rather show that stat line. And Drake London was blanketed by Porter the entire game. The Falcons tried running on T.J. Watt’s side earlier in the game, and Bijan Robinson was tackled for a loss. They never ran to that side again. The same can be said about Porter’s success on his side. The Falcons stopped trying to throw his direction, and that’s incredible for just a second year player.

Losers

Money Down Success
Stat Line: 8/17 3rd Downs, 0/1 4th Downs, 0/2 Red-Zone

If the Steelers want to be legitimate threats in any game, let alone the division and conference, they need to be better offensively on “money downs”. That would be 3rd down success, 4th down success, and Red-Zone success. When you look at the stats above you can see just how bad it was in Week 1 vs. the Falcons.

Officiating Crew
Stat Line: Too involved

Let’s go over this week’s “Greatest Hits” for the horrible NFL officiating:

• Awful situation where no one knew if it was 4th down or a 1st down
• Missed Facemask when Jessie Bates rips off Najee Harris’ helmet leaving a scrum
• Bogus Offensive Pass Interference call on George Pickens
• T.J. Watt strip-sack negated by being called offsides…and the official told Watt he missed the call at halftime.
• When Pickens was ruled down by contact when he clearly wasn’t touched

I’m sure I missed some, but you get the picture. The thing is the NFL does nothing to fix the issue. Almost as if they are taking an approach of which if we get accustomed to poor officiating enough we’ll just get used to it. Well, that’s not me, and this officiating sucks.

Penalties
Stat Line: 9-for-60 yards

Outside of the atrocious calls above, the Steelers were also heavily penalized for infractions which should be cleaned up. Spencer Anderson was flagged for a false start, Van Jefferson for an illegal procedure, illegal hands to the face on defense. Those things can, and should, be cleaned up.

Cameron Johnston
Stat Line: “Serious” Injury

Johnston isn’t on this list because of a poor performance, but because there was so much promise for the Steelers new punter his injury makes it even more disappointing. Johnston is likely done for the season, and the team will again be kicking the proverbial tires of any number of punters who are looking for employment. So much for finally having a punter…

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!