The Pittsburgh Steelers are sixteen games into the regular season, and that means it’s time to track who has done well, stock up, and who hasn’t, stock down, as the team turns the page to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18 of the regular season.

As always, these are just my lists, so feel free to voice your opinion in the comment section below.

Stock Up

Jaylen Warren

Jaylen Warren didn’t just burst onto the scene. Steelers fans know all about what he brings to the Steelers offense in a multitude of ways. He is valued, but what you are seeing from Warren is he is finally returning to health. During Mike Tomlin’s press conference this week he mentioned how Warren’s recent success is more about him getting healthy more than anything else. At this stage, Warren does almost everything better than Najee Harris, but this isn’t breaking news. Warren will likely enter 2025 as the RB1, but he’ll need a counterpart, and I don’t think that will be Najee. However, Warren is playing great, and the Steelers need him.

Injured Players

With the extended break the Steelers received after the Christmas Day game, they are slated to get some key players back in the lineup. Mainly Joey Porter Jr. and Ben Skowronek. However, the arrow is also pointing up for a player like Cole Holcomb. I don’t think Holcomb plays a snap this year, but the fact he is returning to practice is a great step in the right direction for a player who many, myself included, wondered if his career was over. As for Roman Wilson and Logan Lee, getting the rookies some extra practice reps should help catapult them into 2025, never a bad thing.

Kickers

I wanted to give some love to the kickers for the Steelers. Chris Boswell will be a Pro Bowler and should also be 1st Team All-Pro, but Corliss Waitman has done a fantastic job filling in on short notice prior to the start of the season. Has everything been perfect? No, we all remember the shank on Thursday Night Football in the snow, but Waitman has had way more positive moment than negative ones, and you can’t ask for much more when you lose your free agent punter in the early stages of the team preparation process. The Steelers kickers are trending up, and have been all season.

Stock Down

Takeaways

What happened to the optimistic Steelers defense? The defense that takes away the football at critical moments in games which turns the tide in the Steelers’ favor. Let’s talk about how this has flipped for the Steelers and has their arrow pointing in the wrong direction. Let’s go through two sets of events:

• Steelers vs. Ravens in Pittsburgh, Lamar Jackson throws a perfect pass to Justice Hill down the sideline and Payton Wilson somehow comes away with the critical INT.
• On primetime, Aaron Rodgers sees his pass intercepted by undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop with a tremendous one-handed INT.

vs.

• Lamar Jackson drops back to pass and Alex Highsmith strips the ball before Jackson can throw the pass. The ball bounces around, but is recovered by a Ravens offensive lineman.
• Patrick Mahomes pass on Christmas is tipped by Cam Heyward, pops up into the air, and falls right through the hands of Patrick Queen before falling helplessly to the ground incomplete.

Earlier in the season the Steelers were coming away with these plays. Recently? Not so much. The past two games the Steelers have forced four fumbles, yet recovered none of them. This arrow needs to change directions quick.

Tackling

The Steelers tackling woes have been a constant during the 3-game losing streak. I could run down a ton of examples of the Steelers defense getting just what they want, but a failure to bring the ball carrier to the ground has equated in the opposition getting a new set of downs and extending drives. There really is no excuse for the tackling issues, but there is no doubt this is an issue which isn’t getting better. In fact, it’s getting worse.

T.J. Watt

Watt has been kept without a sack in 3 of his last 4 games, and I’m not about to suggest he’s fully healthy after injuring his ankle vs. the Eagles three games ago. However, Watt, and by proxy the Steelers pass rush, have struggled. Watt’s arrow is pointing down not just because of the lack of production, but based on the fact I don’t think he is even close to healthy. Did the extended break after Week 17 and before Week 18 help? We’ll find out soon enough. If he has the burst we’re used to seeing vs. Joe Burrow and company, this will change, but until then I don’t feel great with Watt banged up.

Dan Moore Jr.

Moore is getting ready to hit free agency this offseason, and it is highly unlikely he returns to the Steelers in 2025. I would have said that before Moore’s worst game of the season vs. the Chiefs, but this just emphasized my stance on his future status with the team. What might rub salt into the wound for Moore is the fact his free agent stock is on the line every week he steps on the field, and recently that hasn’t been pretty.

Finishing Strong

This wasn’t a Mike Tomlin “unleash hell” declaration, but it might as well have been. The Steelers played a whopping five games in December, based solely on how the calendar and schedule paired up, but they went 2-3 and losing the final three games. If the Steelers lose to the Bengals in Week 18, you couldn’t enter the playoffs in a worse position. Finishing strong isn’t going to happen at this juncture, but winning Saturday night will at least help the team garner some momentum heading into the playoffs.

Be sure to follow SCN for all the latest news and updates as the team prepares for the Bengals in Week 18 of the 2024 regular season.